


White Waikiki Wedding

by Theonewhosawitall



Series: Very McDanno Days [3]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Bickering, Boys In Love, Car Chases, Cold Feet, Corny, Dad Steve, Dancing and Singing, Drunkenness, Embarrassment, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fishing, Flashbacks, Gambling, Hurt/Comfort, I might as well have written this in reverse, Idiots in Love, Knife Throwing, Love, M/M, Minor Kono Kalakaua/Adam Noshimuri, Nightmares, Nostalgia, One Big Happy Family, Panic Attacks, Photography, Same-Sex Marriage, Siblings, Slideshow, Stag Nights & Bachelor Parties, Surfing, Team as Family, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Wakes & Funerals, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Planning, Wedding Rings, Weddings, alls well that ends well, best man speech, goofy steve McGarrett, hula, loads of flashbacks, missing kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:02:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 95,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26479921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall
Summary: After everything Danny and Steve had worked through to fall in love and be together, the big day had finally arrived. All they need to do is get through the day with no bumps and make it to the ceremony on time.Except Danny's having cold feet and Chin and Charlie have gone missing.Nothing's ever easy.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: Very McDanno Days [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882621
Comments: 19
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

Danny felt like he was wearing a monkey suit. The collar was tight, and the tie was tighter and yet the jacket was wearing him. It was hard to breath, but it had been since he found the body. Everything sounded so distant and muffled around him too. He felt like he was drowning, but there was never any water. He stared at his reflection and took a deep breath, but there was no air to be found.

"Danno?"

Danny turned away from the mirror to look over at the doorway. Grace was still in her pyjamas. Pale blue and cotton with cartoon monkeys dancing across them. His baby girl. Still so sweet and little and innocent. She had no idea what he had done. Hopefully she never would. His chest heaved to see her, but he mustered up the best smile he could. It was almost non-existent. 

"Hey monkey... you uh, you doing, h-how you doing?" He asked. 

Grace shrugged. It was odd to see her father all dressed up in a suit, but it was odder that he had knotted the tie wrong. He wore one every day, and yet today it was like he had never seen one before. 

"Let me fix that," she said.

Danny looked down in surprise. He hadn't noticed that he had tied it wrong. He wasn't even thinking when he did it. Steve would have noticed if he was here. If he was. But he wasn't...

Grace climbed up onto his bed to kneel up and reach his collar. Grace had learned how to tie ties when she was young, and Danny always liked it when she did his. She always had the most serious face when she did it. Her entire focus was on that knot. It was adorable. 

He'd take any little joy he could on a day like today.

This entire house felt dark. Like there was a storm cloud over head that was just drizzling across them. There was no indication that another glimpse of joy was on the horizon. Not on a day like this.

"Better?" Danny asked as she smoothed his tie again.

"Better," Grace nodded. 

"Thank you," he muttered.

Danny stepped away to check it in the mirror. Grace swung her legs over the edge of the bed to watch him.

"Danno... Is it okay if I ride with Grandma?"

Danny blinked in surprise. He looked back at her, hesitantly. Part of him wanted her to ride in the car with him so she wouldn’t be out of his sight, but if she wasn’t with him it would be easier to break down. He was definitely going to. The ache in his chest let him know that break was on the horizon and he didn’t want Grace to see it. 

No one wants their daughter to see them cry, even on a day like this.

"Oh, um, are you sure?" He asked uncertainly. 

"I think she needs someone to hold her hand," she explained.

"That's uh... that’s okay monkey, but I thought you'd hold mine. Who's gonna hold mine huh?" Danny forced a smile.

She blinked in surprise as her face fell, "Oh. Well, I-"

"No, no, Grace, I'm teasing. It’s fine. Ride with Grandma. I'm really proud of you," he said.

Grace tilted his head. "What for?"

His throat ached as a ball formed at the base of it. Danny pulled her close so she was pressed against his stomach, holding her tightly, like he couldn’t bare to let her go. 

"I just am."

He pressed a kiss into her hair and ran a hand along her cheek. Grace could see the pain in his eyes as he looked down at her. She couldn't imagine losing someone like this. It didn't seem possible. It would hurt too much to lose someone that she loved as much as Danny loved Matthew.

"Do you want me to do your hair monkey? I know I'm not very good-" he began.

She shook her head. "Aunt Stella's going to do my hair for me. Aunt Bridget says she'll find me a dress to wear."

"You’ve got a dress, we packed it especially," he reminded her.

"She says she doesn't know where it is. She steamed it yesterday for me," she explained. 

"I told you not to let your aunts treat you like a doll Gracie," he sighed.

"I think they just want something to do. I don’t mind being their doll if it makes them feel better," she shrugged.

Danny smiled weakly. "This is why I'm proud of you. Always thinking of others."

Grace smiled as she shrugged. She learned it from him, and she knew that, but it didn't seem necessary to say. Not today. If she had said it though, Danny would have broken down instantly. 

A funny thing about funerals is that they work in almost the same way as weddings. At least they did here. Downstairs, Vito and Eddie were quietly sipping on whiskey while upstairs Bridget, Stella and Sophia were getting ready and had been for ages. While on the wedding day it was the bride being fussed over, here, now, it was Clara.

Clara had put on her dress inside out, and her hair was flat and lifeless. Just like she felt. The girls had taken it upon themselves to help her fix her dress and now they had her sat in front of the mirror to do her hair. As Grace passed by the door, Bridget called her in.

"Gracie sweetie, dyou know where your dress is?"

Grace stopped in the doorway and shook her head innocently. "No Auntie, you steamed it last night-"

Bridget took a sharp breath as she remembered doing so, "Right, right, it'll be hanging in the bathroom."

Grace nodded obediently. She hurried off to find her dress. It was locked when she got to the door, so she knocked. 

"Occupied," Eric called.

She could hear how tight his voice was. Strangled slightly. Grace knew the reason, and she knew how to fix it, even at her tender age.

"Eric? I need my dress. Let me in," she said, gently.

There was no response from inside, until the lock clicked. Grace creaked it open hesitantly. She could see her black dress hanging from the shower curtain's bar across the bathtub. It had been steamed free of wrinkles. Last night the way it was folded had caused a streak across the skirt. That was why it needed steaming. That streak was gone.

Grace ignored it and pushed her way into the bathroom. Eric was still in his underwear, but at least today he had a shirt too. He buried his head in his hands, hiding his eyes so she couldn’t see how raw they were. No one was ever allowed to see Eric cry. He hated it. Clara always did her best to make him talk through what he was feeling, and he could do that. He could admit when he was sad or mad or just hungry, but seeing how it actually affected him was something he wouldn’t allow.

"Eric?"

"Your dress is up there Gracie."

"D'you want a hug?"

Eric didn't respond. Grace waited. Everybody wanted a hug today, and that was the only thing that she could offer anyone. No one was supposed to see Eric cry today. No one except his small, sweet, innocent cousin was offering him a hug that he desperately wanted. 

He nodded, silently.

Eric was taller than Grace. Not by much though. When she hugged him, she almost filled his chest. She could feel the way it heaved when he tried to hold in the sobs. Her arms could reach around his back, but what she had discovered was that today, people didn't need to be held. They just wanted to hold her. Hold each other. Those who were left behind.

It made them feel less alone.

"I'm sorry," Eric sniffed hard as he pulled away, "I'm being ridiculous..."

"It's okay to cry Eric. If you don’t, you'll explode," she said.

"Grandma told you that too huh?" Eric snorted.

Grace smiled and nodded. It was a watery laugh that her cousin managed to find, but it was still a laugh. It was odd really. She hadn't seen Eric in years, and yet when they were together, she felt like that meant nothing. That no time had passed. He was still the older brother she had never had, and she was still the little kid he liked to show off to. Danny usually tried to remind her that Eric was a trouble maker and she shouldn't take any advice from him, but today there weren’t trouble makers or law enforcers or anything else you could label them.

Today they were just a family who needed one another. 

"There's tissues in the-" she began.

"It’s okay, it's a bathroom. There's toilet paper," he interrupted. 

She just nodded, picked up her dress, and moved on.  
Danny leaned on the wall as he watched his sisters getting ready through the doorway. They brushed out Grace's hair together, braiding it as they discussed whether or not to pile the braids into a bun too. The two of them calmly distracted themselves from their grief by dressing up Grace instead. Right down to the heels he would definitely make her take off before they reached the church. 

The way women prepared for events like this was different to men. Even in their grief they wanted to look good. Have their hair fixed, tuck the dress just so, find the right jewellery to match. They stuck close together as they did it. Like grooming helped them to bond. To stay closer, even if they weren't the rest of the time.

This preparation mattered to the girls, while the men just wanted to drown their troubles in alcohol. 

"You’re not wearing your uniform?"

Danny looked up at his father. His father had dug out his old dress uniform from the back of the wardrobe. The blazer sat neatly on his shoulders, and his tie was tied properly and sat on his chest. His pants had been steamed and his shoes shined. On the sleeve of his jacket his rank was proudly displayed, as were the medals pinned to his chest. It fit as it always had. Tailored perfectly for his comfort. 

Danny's dress uniform was similar. It fit him well usually. It was, after all, tailored to. But looking at himself in the mirror with his hat and his rank reflecting back at him made his stomach ache. It itched. Made him uncomfortable. Anything that felt law abiding didn’t feel right anymore. Not after what he had done. 

But he couldn’t tell anyone about that. 

"Hey Pop," he muttered.

"How you holding up?" Eddie asked.

Danny's gaze trailed back to his father, and he heaved a sigh instead of answering. It was a question he was going to face a lot in the next coming weeks, and he didn’t see the point of asking. Everyone knew the answer. It hung over them. He heard Eddie heave a similar sigh beside him.

"Yeah... me too..."

Eddie silently offered Danny his glass of whiskey. Danny glanced at it, glanced back at Grace, and took it while she wasn't looking. The overwhelming guilt in his stomach was something he couldn't stand. He couldn’t tell anyone either. They already had one criminal son, they didn’t need another. 

As far as everyone here was concerned, Marco Reyes died in a police raid. Killed in self-defence. Self defence...

Danny kicked back the whiskey in one, and flinched at the burn. He said nothing as he handed the glass back to Eddie. Eddie glanced him up and down, concerned.

"I know I don't say it much... but I'm proud of you son."

Danny's jaw dropped open as he glanced up at Eddie. Eddie didn't meet his eye. Danny's chest ached with despair. The guilt was eating at his stomach the way the whiskey burned his throat.

"Pop, I... What I did-"

"You did what you had to do. Nothing more than that matters. Not today."

Eddie finally met Danny's eye, and Danny could see how old his father had become. How tired he was. How much weight hung across his shoulders. Danny's own eyes welled up. He suddenly felt like a toddler again, utterly clueless about what happens next.

Eddie raised an arm to welcome Danny towards him, and Danny dove against his chest. He made no attempt to hug Eddie. Instead, he clawed against his shirt, and muffled his sobs against his medals. Eddie clung to him tightly, with the same desperation he clung to Grace with. 

No matter how old Danny got, Eddie would always have the kind of strength to hold him up when he couldn't find it anywhere else. 

"I've booked a separate car for us," Eddie explained, stoically as he held onto Danny, "Clara and the girls need more time to prepare, so we're going to the funeral home to set up there."

Danny just nodded. He stepped into the room to warn Grace he was leaving, and he wished he hadn't. While the others brushed him off, Clara didn’t even react. She was sat on the edge of the bed, with her hands in her lap, staring straight ahead like nothing in the world could register anymore. 

None of them had ever known her to look so much like a zombie. Even when she was broken hearted, she would wander around and hum happy songs to try and boost her mood. She would always find a smile for them, even if it didn’t feel real. This woman was a shell. Clara had left the building. 

Danny couldn't blame her for it. This house- every inch of it found a way to remind him of his brother. Of play fights that got out of hand. Of stolen apple juice split on the carpet. Or sleeping on the porch alone because Matty had climbed through the window and fallen asleep on the couch instead of letting him in.

And it wasn't just the house. As they drove through town, Matt was in the shadows of every building and alleyway they drove past. 

On the local basketball court where the two of them would take on the neighbours and blame the other when they lost. Down an unlit alley, where Matt's bike was stolen and Danny had his first real police interaction that changed his mind about career paths. Outside the club where Matt and him used to go drinking to pick up girls long before he met Rachel. All over their old high school. Through the arcade. Under the under pass.

Matt's footsteps were all over this city, and Danny could see him in every part of it, haunting him. 

But when he closed his eyes, he saw Matt climbing the stairs up to the plane, and that made his chest ache and his eyes dampen. 

"Hey?" Vito nudged him back to the room.

"Huh?" Danny blinked.

"I said have you written your eulogy?" Vito asked.

Danny looked around him. He wasn’t sure how he had found himself in the middle of the funeral directors, surrounded by coffins, without noticing, but he had. His head was filling with fog, but he tried to focus it on Vito.

"My eulogy?" He repeated. 

Vito nodded. He waited for a reaction, but Danny just looked like he was getting more confused so he cleared his throat. 

"Listen, it’s no big thing if you can't do it. It's a good enough thing that you're here at all. I know plenty of guys who lost their brother and couldn’t go to the funeral, and regret it. It's alright just to be here," Vito assured him.

"Then who does the eulogy huh? Ma's a mess, Pop's too stubborn to talk about his feelings, Eric's - I don’t even know where Eric is!" Danny huffed.

"I can read whatever you wrote," Vito shrugged.

Danny felt his stomach twist. He wasn’t sure how many waves of guilt could crash through him. Given the way the sea crashed endlessly against the sand just to keep him awake at night, his hopes weren’t high.

"You did write something?" Vito asked, cautiously. 

"Danny?" Bridget called.

Her voice echoed across the filling church as she beckoned him over. He was grateful to go.

"I will. Probably," he lied to Vito.

Truth be told Danny had no idea what to say. Finding out Matt had been a criminal right under his nose had thrown him through a loop, on top of that he'd gone missing for years, then he was held to ransom, and then... well then, they were here. There wasn't much in that that Danny could think about. It made his head spin to consider it, so he didn't. 

But when he looked at Clara and how she clung to Sophia's hand just so she could be guided into position, he knew he had to say something. Anything. Well, anything except what he was thinking.

Given how much everyone on both sides of the interaction hated the commiseration line, Danny wondered why people bothered to have them. No one ever knew what to say, it was always awkward, and it never released any of the misery. Still he shook the hand of every person through that door, even if he didn’t recognise them, and he didn't really listen to a single one of them. 

All too soon everyone was inside the church sitting down and waiting for the hearse to be unloaded.

"C’mon, let’s go sit down Ma," Stella whispered. 

Clara held onto her hand as Stella guided her down the church towards the front row, where the immediate family would have to sit. Sophia took Grace's hand, and followed. Vito tugged Eric's jacket lapels to straighten it up, and smoothed his shoulders afterwards. Eric forced a smile in return. He was barely tall enough to match them as pallbearers, but they needed him to even it out. 

"You ready son?" Eddie muttered as they watched the coffin slide out of the hearse.

"As I'll ever be," Danny muttered back.

It was sickening how light the coffin was. Sickening but not surprising. He had, after all, been nothing more than a mess of bones when Danny found him. That was an image that would haunt him forever. It still didn’t sit right with him. 

Everyone turned to watch them as they followed the ominous organ music down the aisle to reach the pulpit. With all eyes on them, Danny felt even more on edge. Some of the people in the crowd were friends of his. People who had come out just to support him. He was grateful to them for that, but some were from his old precinct. If any of them had known what actions he had taken after finding his brother like this- it didn’t bare thinking about. 

The sounds of the mourners shuffled into a droning background noise, along with the muffled priest giving a speech about the sanctity of life and the space in heaven that awaited Matt. Danny couldn't bare it. All he could think of was what he was going to say in his eulogy. All he could think of was Matt climbing the stairs to the plane.

If he had just arrested him then they wouldn't be here now. 

"I gotta go," he muttered.

"Danno?" Grace whispered urgently as he got up.

"I'll be right back," he lied. 

When Danny walked into the lobby he had no intention of coming back. He wanted to walk until he was somewhere that didn’t scream Matt at him. Even if that meant walking back to O'ahu. Although if that wave of guilt at the landing strip on take-off back in Honolulu airport was anything to go by, O'ahu wasn't avoiding Matt's memory either.

Danny picked up his phone to start looking up the price of cabs out of here when he noticed his voicemail was flashing. Curiously, he felt the urge to listen. 

"Hey Danno, it's just me. I uh... I'll call you later, I just wanted to see if you're okay. That’s dumb, of course you’re not okay, but, uh, if you need someone to talk to... alright you know what I mean."

Danny gave a soft laugh. Steve fumbled over his words so awkwardly when he was worrying. For some reason it helped to know he was concerned. Danny let the next message run.

"It's me again. Um, I'm just checking on you, man. I just want to see how you're doing, and see how the family's holding up. Look, give me a call if you get a second, all right? I'm thinking about you, buddy. Bye."

Danny's smile grew as the urge to cry eased slightly. This was the first funeral since he had moved to the island that Steve hadn't joined him. It was something that hadn’t even crossed his mind, but knowing it had played on Steve's enough for him to leave two out of the three new messages made him feel less alone. Then message three brought a familiar voice and he wanted to laugh all over again. 

"Alright, this is my last call because I can't keep calling, I'm sorry I've clogged your voicemail this much, but... look, I know it’s hard, but I'm here alright? The hardest part is gonna be that eulogy, it always is for me, but once you get past it... alright, it’s not gonna be any easier, but it'll go faster. And it might help. Alright, uh, I'm done. Call me to let me know you’re alright okay? Love- uh, thinking about ya. Bye."

Danny just laughed. It was a wheezy laugh, but it was a laugh all the same. Even thousands of miles away, his partner still had his back. He wiped back the tears forming in his eyes. As much as be didn’t want to go back in, and even though he had no idea what to say, with Steve in his head, Danny found himself standing up and facing the church. 

"Death is, um... death is something that never gets any easier. Most of you here today know that. People say it’s important to remember the good times, to remember what you loved about the people you lose so you can carry that with you. I guess, uh, I guess... I guess they think that if you can carry the good with you, you can keep that alive, and... Matty did do good. He was there for me when I needed him, like it was no big deal. Hardest moment of my life, my divorce, I only got through because he was there for me..."

_And when he needed me, I didn't notice. I didn't help him. I didn’t stop him getting on that plane. I didn’t stop this._

"I love my brother. I know he made mistakes, but all of us do. We do our best to make it right, we do our best to forgive, and in the end... in the end we remember the good because it hurts too much to focus on the bad. We choose to remember the good, and I choose to remember my baby brother the way I always have. As the kid who broke his arm climbing a tree to get back the neighbour's kite because she was scared of heights. That’s my brother to me. For now, and... and forever. Thanks for coming."

The rest of the day passed by like a blur. Not just because of the alcohol although it played its role. The only thing he really took in was how often people used the same phrases. I’m sorry for your loss was obvious. He was a good man was questionable. But “we should get together more often, in happier circumstances next time" always felt like a rip off. 

If people cared, they got together. They just did.

But Danny hadn’t seen Matthew in years before all of this happened. He ached all over as he watched Grace chattering to family members who hadn't seen her in years. Chances were she wouldn't see them again. Maybe ever.

She had loved Matthew in her own way. He was her favourite - and only - uncle all through her childhood. But she hadn’t seen him in years, and absence only makes the heart fonder for a while. After that it starts to forget. That, and the way she politely called everyone uncle or auntie, was a direct result of her time in Hawaii. 

It was easy to forget the troubles of this old grey city when it was replaced by sunshine, mountains and the ocean. 

As much as he hated to admit it, the thought of going home right now was more comforting than the idea of going back to his family home. When he finally did, he couldn’t sleep. The time difference still hadn’t set in for him, even if the emotions of the day drained him.

But he was drunk. And he was sad. And there was only one person on this planet who understood why he felt as guilty as he did. Without thinking, his thumb dialled the ever so familiar number. There was barely two rings before he snatched up the call.

"Danny!"

He sounded relived. Like he'd been waiting for this call all day. Steve had been thinking about Danny all day, hoping he wouldn't feel alone. That warmed his heart, even as the tears running down his face finally caught his voice in his throat. 

"Hey Steve. Can we talk?"


	2. Chapter 2

They had come a long way since the funeral but Steve was still the only person who could ease his chest like that. Of course, he also terrified him enough too. When Danny slowly blinked his eyes open to find himself alone in the hammock, alarm had struck him. He was certain he had been cuddling up against Steve when he fell asleep. Now the sun was setting, a chilled breeze was running through his bones, and Steve was nowhere to be seen.

Danny stretched as he climbed out of the hammock. From across the garden, in a small beaten up rowing boat that couldn’t float anymore, Eddie raised his head. He had taken to napping in it while his humans napped in the hammock. He didn't much like them being out of his sight for too long. Not after what he had been through. Danny paused to scratch his ear.

"C’mon bud, let's find our idiot," he muttered.

Eddie heaved himself to his paws and dragged himself out of the boat. Once on the grass he stretched himself out and shook himself awake. His tail wagged happily afterwards. Danny walked ahead of him and waited at the bottom step of the lalani. Eddie was getting old now, he was slowing down a bit. It took him a moment to catch up.

As it turned out they didn’t have to look far to find him. Steve was sat on the couch looking at photo prints spread out across the coffee table. He was in his own little world until Danny ran a hand across his shoulder blades and moved in to perch on the arm of the couch beside him.

"You okay babe?" Danny asked.

Steve glanced up at him for a moment, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I was just looking at this photo Chin brought us. Take a look."

Steve held up a print for Danny to take. Curiously he did. When he saw what it was, he gave a warm laugh.

"Oh man! Look at that!"

It had been taken so long ago he couldn’t tell you who took it but he recognised the contents instantly. The palace was empty. Just a big table and some old boxes scattered around. It hadn’t looked like that in years. Anyone who wasn't in this photo probably wouldn't recognise it.

Danny was there at the edge of the table, leaning back in his chair with his feet on it. He was laughing, and pointing his chopsticks at Chin. Chin was standing by the side of the table, with his hands up and a bright smile, like he had made a terrible pun and was being berated for it. Kono was sat on top of the table, her head thrown back and her hair trailing across her spine as she howled with laughter. Steve was at the back of the room, beside Chin, smiling affectionately at the reaction of the people around him. His arm was in a sling, but he held onto his Chinese food like it didn't hurt. 

That was so long ago Kamekona didn't even have a shrimp van for them to frequent. Although tossed aside under the window at the back of the room were two blue shirts that Steve had been forced to buy from Kamekona for the stake of some information.   
Danny smiled brightly at the young men and Kono crowding together in their office in the early days.

It seemed like a life time ago now. 

"Look how young we were," he muttered, smiling. Then louder he added, "you're injured, as usual."

"I think that was when I got shot," Steve said, craning his neck as if he could check. 

"Which time?" Danny asked.

"Funny," Steve stated.

"Man..." Danny's hand fell into his lap as he handed it back to Steve, "I can't believe how much we've all changed."

"I know. Did you ever think that little gang of stragglers were gonna turn into this?" Steve gestured around the room.

"What, a SEAL trying to escape the navy and find his father’s killer, a cop thousands of miles from home just trying to stay close to his daughter, a disgraced cop working out of a gift shop with IA still breathing down his neck looking for stolen money, and his cousin an injured surfer fresh out of the academy with no field experience - Turning into this?" Danny snorted. "No. No way. If you'd have told me then where we'd be tonight, I'd have thrown you in a cell to sleep it off."

"Yeah you would," Steve chuckled.

He shuffled up as Danny slid onto the couch beside him so they could both look at the photos together. Danny picked up one of Steve hauled over the hood of his car (again) holding out his hand as a young man handed him a wrench. Danny gasped. 

"Nahele!" He laughed.

Steve grabbed the photo from him, and laughed to see it. Nahele then was so different to the man they knew today. He was so much skinnier then and he looked so unsure of himself. He kept his distance from the car, and from Steve, like he wasn't sure he could trust either. He didn’t even have stubble. Not like the grown man they knew and loved today. He had a neatly kept stubbly moustache, strong arms, surfers’ legs, and a faint whiff of engine oil around him at all times.

"Who would have thought that kid would go onto be an award-winning mechanic huh?" Steve smiled wistfully.

"You," Danny said, plainly. "It never would have happened without you."

"Well, he took apart my car alone. Putting it back together was the hard bit. He was good, even back then, he just needed a little guidance," Steve shrugged.

"I'm sure the big island thanks you," Danny said.

Steve smiled wider. He looked over at Danny as he picked up more photos. These glimpses back to their past were eye openers. Rose tinted through time, of course, but they warmed the cockles of the heart to remember all these long-forgotten days. Steve's attention moved from the photos to Danny as he handed him another one.

"Look at this," he said.

The photo he handed him was one of the earliest of the two of them together. It had been cut out of a newspaper. All of the task force were standing along the harbour in Pearl City, behind a huge pile of drugs they'd managed to confiscate together fro. some drugs bust. Chin and Kono were looking cool and calm and confident, like this was just part of the job. Danny though, was looking at Steve like he was surprised the man could be such an idiot, and Steve was grinning his goofy megawatt grin back at him, like he'd made a terribly timed joke that only he could hear. 

"Goof," Danny muttered now, just as disdainfully.

Steve lit up as he beamed at him. He looked at how young they had once been, and how old they looked now, and it ached to know how much of life they had been tied together. How much time had passed before they said anything. How much time they had missed out on.

And how much they still had left melted his heart.

"How did we get so lucky?" Steve smiled.

Danny looked at him, surprised. He blinked at how wistful Steve's eyes had gone. Nostalgia was making him gooey. Like he'd forgotten just how they'd gotten here.

"After all the crap we had to wade through to get here? This isn’t luck. This is justice," Danny said, firmly. 

Steve chuckled as he moved in to kiss Danny's cheek. Danny pushed him away playfully and called him a sop. It never failed to delight him how goofy and love struck the Navy SEAL he had once punched in the face could really be. 

"Do I really have to stay at Jerry's tonight?" Steve whined.

"Yes." It wasn’t up for debate.

"I'm not going to see you for two days then!" Steve sighed.

He clung a little tighter to Danny at the idea of having to leave him again. Since he had left to find some kind of purpose, Danny had been forced to experience the same lonely pain that Catherine had left Steve sulking in when she left for Nepal. Now he really didn’t want to leave. He never wanted either of them to be apart again.

Danny, however, was less concerned about being apart. Especially tonight. Tonight was the stag do, and he definitely didn’t want them both to end up in the same bed. If they did, they'd never drag themselves out of it.

And this time, he wanted to follow the tradition of not seeing his partner before the ceremony. After all, it ended badly last time.

"We're already running a non-traditional wedding, we need to hold onto as many good luck superstitions as possible."

"Y’know in Hawaiian culture-"

"Steve," Danny interrupted firmly. He eased his tone as he took his hand in his own and enlaced their fingers together, "I love you and I'm learning to love Hawaiian culture but right now, today, I just need to hold onto my culture and my superstitions, just for today, just so I don't lose my mind, okay?"

"Okay, okay, take a breathe babe," Steve urged, laying his other hand on top of Danny's. "It's one night of fun, a night to recover, and together for the rest of our lives, right?" 

"As short and dangerous as they may be," Danny agreed. 

"Your life is only as short and dangerous as you are," Steve teased.

Danny frowned. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"That I'm going to live longer than you because I'm taller," Steve grinned.

"Keep that up you'll die before you ever reach the alter. It'll be the perfect alibi, I was busy getting married," Danny grinned back.

"Good luck, the partner is always the first suspect."

"Yeah because they've got the best reason to do it. Forever is a long time."

"And it goes by so fast."

"Doesn’t it just..."

Steve picked up another old photo. One he hadn't been aware existed until Chin brought it over. He recognised Jerry's handwriting on the back, listing the names of the people in it in case they ever forgot. Steve didn't need to look at them to know who they were. 

It was back when Charlie was still stuck in hospital. Steve and Danny had brought Grace to visit. Grace was sitting on the low window seat behind them, beside Danny. Danny had an arm wrapped around her shoulders, and was pulling her head closer to him to lay a kiss on her hairline. On the floor in front of them, Steve was sitting with his legs folded and Charlie sat on his lap. Charlie was playing with a fire engine that he was pushing across the floor to try and reach the toy airplane Steve was pretending to crash into the floor. 

Neither had noticed Jerry, or the photos he was taking, but they both remembered that year. He had been sneaking as many photos as he could to improve his recon skills. They weren't surprised Jerry had dozens of photos of all of them that they had never seen before. A little disturbed, sure, but not surprised. 

They were so much younger back then. Charlie's hair was much neater. Nothing like the unruly mop he was sporting now. Sitting up in Steve's lap, he was barely as long as Steve's torso. He had gotten much taller now, and he was much more boisterous.   
To look at him now, you'd never know how sick he had once been. 

Even in this hospital room, with Charlie in his paediatric gown, and the rest of them smelling like antiseptic, they looked happy. All four of them did. A little broken, but happy. 

"Can I take this?" 

Steve was surprised to hear the words leaving his mouth, but not as surprised as Danny was to hear them.

"Why?"

Steve shrugged. "I dunno, I just feel like I should take it with me."

Danny laughed and nudged him playfully, "You sop! You want a locket to keep it in too?"

"Maybe. What can I say, love makes you do crazy things," Steve grinned.

He rested his chin on Danny's shoulder and gazed at him with a gooey grin, like a love drunk fool. Danny groaned as he tried not to laugh and shrugged him off.

"Get out of here before you drink anymore, you’re barely under the legal limit!" He teased.

"I'll call Jerry and ask for a lift, pass me those photos," Steve grinned.

Danny snorted but his smile was dazzling. The way it filled his eyes was as though it was because his heart was overflowing. Steve's smile grew to match when Danny picked up a photo of Charlie dressed up as a cowboy, complete with hat and spurs, clutching onto a plastic pumpkin. 

"See this? This is the day he promised me - he promised, he'd never grow up any more than that," Danny said wistfully. 

"And he didn’t keep that promise?" Steve smiled, pretending to sound surprised.

"No, uh no he did not," Danny chuckled, "I think I can forgive him though. If I can forgive Grace lying to us so she could go to a high school party at thirteen-"

"Oh, that was Frankenstein! I really thought I was gonna die in that basement," Steve said, shaking his head.

His eyes were wide with dread at the memory as he did his best not to shudder. Danny felt a tug of guilt and moved a hand to rub his back reassuringly. 

"Sorry I wasn’t there for you babe," he muttered.

"Don't worry about it. You were doing important things," Steve shrugged, smiling.

"And stopping Dr Frankenstein from building bride number 2 isn’t important?" Danny challenged.

"It’s not a competition Danno," Steve said, seriously.

"It’s not? Good because I wouldn't win," Danny said.

"You’d be a loser?" Steve offered.

"Steve," Danny warned. 

"Well if you’re not a winner then you’re a loser," Steve pointed out. 

"Steve, I swear - I swear to God," Danny tried not to laugh. 

"That’s how language works Danny! If you don’t win you lose, if you lose, you’re a loser, it's simple!"

"It’s not a competition, you childish Neanderthal!"

"Childish and Neanderthal huh?"

"You have to top everything don’t you?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter!" Danny elbowed him towards the door as he said, "Go on, get out before I decide not to marry you!"

"You don't wanna marry me huh?" Steve smirked, "But what if I do this?"

Steve dipped his head close to Danny's neck to plant long, lingering kissing along his collar. Danny groaned as the tingles move through his chest.

"Stop it, stop it, c'mon. They'll be here soon. Plenty of time for that later," Danny said.

Between soft, playful, teasing sucks, Steve murmured against Danny's skin, "Why put off for tomorrow what we can do today?"

Danny snorted again. The sound reverberated through his throat, against Steve's lips. He smirked. His tongue flicked against the curve of Danny's neck.

"Steve..." Danny warned as he held in groan. 

"Mmm," Steve hummed into his skin.

"Stop it," Danny said, firmly.

Steve sighed in disappointment. His shoulders sagged as he did. But with one last small suck, and a peck just because he could, Steve pulled away.

"Alright," he sighed.

The two of them settled back into their seats beside one another to check out the photos some more. 

"Y'know, if Charlie still likes cowboys that much, we could take him back to the rodeo," Steve suggested. 

"And let Auntie Kono teach him to use a bullwhip? No chance," Danny scoffed.

"Why not? Gracie knows knife throwing-" Steve began.

"Because you taught her!" Danny argued. 

"That’s not the point-"

"That's exactly the point-"

"It’s not my point."

"I don't wanna know your point."

"You don’t?"

"I don’t, because its inevitably gonna lead to something dirty, and then you’re gonna start trying to eat my ear again because you know it makes me-"

Once again Steve's hands had groped their way across Danny's waist enough to pull him in. Steve stayed lower than his neck for now though, but the kisses were still flowing. 

"Cowboys wearing skin tight pants..." he whispered in a sultry tone, planting kiss on his shoulder as he did, "with their ropes..." the kissed moved along towards his jawline, "and their _whips..."_ Steve's lips were at the corner of his mouth. He didn't kiss there yet though. Instead, he got tantalisingly close, hushed his whispered as much as he could, and practically purred against Danny's lips, "using those... _strong thighs_ to tightly grip-"

"Fuck it, come here!"

Danny closed the gap with a harsh clash of flesh and lips, and he didn’t care about the victorious laugh that moved through it from his partner. Steve could dominate if he so wanted. He grabbed Danny by the thighs and yanked him down flat against the couch so he could crawl on top. Danny's head left the cushions to reach Steve's as his hands clawed at his hair. Already the groan rumbling in his throat was a warning of what was to come. Steve took it eagerly. 

And then the front door swung open. 

Danny's head dropped against the couch as he looked towards the door. On top of him, Steve was already glaring at the door, before whoever opened it even came into view.

"Knock knock! Oop! Sorry, I hope we're not interrupting?" Jerry pulled a grimace in apology.

"Well, actually-" Steve began.

"No, come on in," Danny said.

Steve felt the hands balled around his shirt suddenly smooth to palms, pushing him away. He looked down in betrayal. 

"Danno," he groaned.

Danny pulled a face at him, and pushed him away firmly so he could roll off the couch to freedom. Steve huffed sulkily as Kono followed Jerry into the room. He made a mental note to get Jerry's key back. 

It had to be a mental note, because if he said it to Danny, Danny would inevitably remind him that he had warned Steve against giving Jerry his own key in the first place

 _"For emergencies!"_ Steve had argued _, "you know he's almost always the first port of call if you me and Rachel are busy!"_

Steve hadn't regretted it much. Okay, his emergencies weren’t the same definition as Jerry's - sometimes his night walks to help him think went further than he expected and it was easier and safer to stay and nap here than go all the way home - but he did his best to be a good house guest!

Sometimes it was nice to wake up to find coffee already made and the house tidy. Sometimes it was even worth the pages of manic notes Jerry had scribbled out on their coffee table while snooping through the McGarrett archives.

But this was a step too far.

"This is for you," Jerry declared.

He proudly held out a cream coloured Stetson with a braided leather band around the rims to Danny. Danny eyed him, and then glanced at Kono. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he ignored the gleam in Steve's eye.

"I'm not uh... Yeah, I'm not wearing that," he said.

He tucked his hands into his pockets and pulled a turtle face, just to underline his refusal. Steve, however, lit up to see it.

"I will!"

He leapt to his feet to grab it eagerly from Jerry. Kono grinned as Steve balanced it on his head. Danny licked his lips as his eyes silently screamed at him. Steve beamed back, knowingly. Danny scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. 

"Cowboy theme huh? You lot been talking recently have ya?" He asked.

"Yehaw," Steve teased.

Danny glared at him.

"There's a new western bar on the windward side and we figured Steve line dancing would look like a spider on a hot plate-" Kono began.

"It would," Jerry nodded in agreement. 

Steve's face fell, "What makes you think I can’t line dance?"

"You can't even dance dance boss," Kono smirked.

Steve opened his mouth to argue, but he had a better idea, "Kono, would you teach Charlie to use a lasso and bullwhip?"

Kono blinked in surprise at how abruptly he had asked. She glanced towards Danny for confirmation or clarification, neither of which came.

"Uh-"

"Don’t. Don’t encourage him," Danny warned.

"The night is young Danno, you might change your mind," Steve winked.

There was a honking from outside that alerted everyone inside to the new arrival. Jerry glanced out of the window, as if he didn’t know exactly who it was already. 

"Chin's here!" He announced. 

Steve grinned wider, if that was even possible. He held onto the hat as he spun on his heels.

"That's my cue," he declared.

"Don't I get a kiss goodbye?" Danny demanded. 

Steve cocked a grin at him. He stepped forward and swept Danny up into his arms so he was pressed against his chest. One hand moved from his side to his jawline, pulling him in closer like he wanted to engulf him. The other moved lower. Down towards his ass. He was inches from dipping Danny dramatically as he did.

"Alright Romeo, keep it PG 13!" Kono laughed.

She latched onto Steve's shirt collar and dragged him back from Danny. As she did, his leg flew off balance and he had to hop backwards. That made all of them laugh.

"To be continued," Steve winked. 

Danny rolled his eyes, but there was a smile in them. An I-can't-believe-I'm-In-Love-with-this-idiot type grin. Jerry held up Steve's jacket for him to grab on his way out, while Kono held the door open for him. Steve paused at the door to tilt the hat at her.

"I'm keeping this," he warned.

"Whatever floats your board," she laughed.

As Danny watched him go, he felt the urge to have the last word. What that came out as was, "Ride em cowboy."

Steve turned to face Danny and as he backed out of the house, he pretended to be on a horse while whipping a lasso above his head. Danny threw his head back and clutched his chest as he laughed.

Chin eyed Steve from his Stetson down as he climbed into the front seat. Steve's cheeks almost hurt from how much he was already grinning. Chin just snorted.

"I'm not even gonna ask!"

Almost as soon as Steve was out of the door, Jerry's phone beeped. "Let’s get going, Max is already waiting."

Danny groaned, "We're not seriously going to a western bar?"

Kono put on her best fake surprised face, "You don't wanna?"

"We've been taking dance lessons for months, I don’t wanna break my stride," Danny explained.

Kono grinned at Jerry, "I told you he'd say that."

Jerry crumpled his nose, visibly put out by this. He had, after all, just lost a bet to her.

"Ah fine. Plan b," he declared. 

"Am I gonna like plan b?" Danny asked tentatively. 

"Danny, at times like this you’ve got to ask yourself some serious questions, like, do you really like anything?" Jerry asked. 

They didn’t give him time to answer before they were bustling him out of the door, but the question was a fair one. They as a group had been arguing over potential plans a lot recently. All of their ideas - sailing in a Hōkūleʻa, archery in the mountains, zip lines, horse riding, another mud challenge - all of their plans Danny would have hated, and Steve would have adored. More than a few arguments were about whether or not they could swap teams.

Steve would do any kind of adventure for the sake of adventure. Danny was far more demanding. Between him and their career - which immediately removed all strip clubs, much to the dismay of Flippa and Kamekona - settling on an activity was a lot harder than it seemed.

Besides, everywhere on the island had already been a crime scene, which took the whimsy out of them. In the end they had settled on one theme that they knew Danny would love. Which was the real plan, not one they placed bets on. Although Kono had to admit, she adored the idea of Danny being forced to line dance with them. 

"We still have to go, our ride is waiting!" Jerry insisted. 

"Our ride?" Danny frowned, uncertainly. 

"You’re gonna love it!" Kono beamed.

Somehow, Danny didn't quite believe her.


	3. Chapter 3

The transport laid on for the night was a minivan. Specifically, a mini van used as a tour bus. A mini van used as a tour bus, with Kamekona's face printed on each side and the hood. At his arrival, several excited and familiar faces came pouring out of it to greet him. 

"What uh... what the hell is this?" Danny asked plainly.

Kamekona patted the side of the van proudly as he said, "This is luxury transport bruddah. High class, air con, cushion seats, perfect for cruising the island and taking the sights. Even got a surround sound hooked into this thing!"

"Great, so I can hear the complaints in surround sound!" Danny said to Kono. 

"C’mon, you haven’t even given it a chance yet," Kono said.

"Are you staying?" Danny asked. He gestured to Kamekona but looked at Kono, "Tell me he's not staying."

"No can do, I've got a personal invite to a high class meal celebrating some other lolo's bachelorhood going bust," Kamekona said. 

"Some other - is this other lolo Steve?" Danny asked.

"What happens on the stag, stays on the stag," Kamekona smirked. 

Flippa stepped off of the van to say, "ready when you are bruddah."

"Flippa's going too?" Danny accused. 

Max made an appearance to explain, "As I understand it, the two of them have agreed to abstain from the particulars of each party, and are instead choosing to represent themselves through their connections instead."

Danny's jaw slacked and his tongue tracked the edge of his teeth as he said, "uh huh... How’s that?" 

"Flippa's driving the bus, Kamekona's cooking for Steve, they’re both working instead of partying so they don’t have to pick a side," Kono explained. 

"Pick a side? What are we, thirteen?" Danny scoffed.

"Not at all detective, but you have to admit, you and Commander McGarrett have had rather an explosive wedding planning-" Max began.

"Explosive-" Danny began, defensively. 

"Prompting our agreement to let you split us into teams like at our football games, which I have found to be quite enjoyable," Max finished.

Danny eyed him impatiently and decided that it wasn’t worth the argument. "It's good to have you on board Max."

"Time is money, and I'm needed elsewhere. Aloha gentlemen. Kono. Enjoy your ride," Kamekona said.

He threw up a shakra as he walked away. Danny raised a hand to wave goodbye to him. Then he folded his arms and turned back to Kono.

"Wanna explain to me what were doing here?"

"What we're doing here Steve is fishing."

Steve looked over the boat bobbing on the surface of the water besides them. He could see the coolers from here, and the rods piled on top of one. He looked back at Chin.

"Fishing? That's how I'm gonna spend my last night as a bachelor? On a boat in the middle of the ocean with you lot?" He asked, drily.

Lou and Chin shared a look. Neither had even considered that Steve would want something bigger than this. Both of them had had wild stag nights, and now they were old and tired and the idea of another one was just painful. 

"You don’t think its a good plan?" Chin asked.

Steve cracked a grin, "I think it's a fantastic plan, I love it! Just a chilled out night chatting with my brothers and knocking back beers, are you kidding me, it's perfect!"

"I told you he'd be excited," Lou sneered. "Maybe now we can settle once and for all who's got the madder fishing skills."

Steve arched an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. "Is that a challenge Grover?"

"If you have to ask you’ve already lost," Lou smirked.

"Gentlemen, please. We still have to get out on the lake," Chin reminded them.

"Yeah, and besides, I'm gonna smoke the lot of you," Tani declared.

Lou laughed loudly, "Hell naw, I've been fishing since before you were born-"

Tani interrupted casually with, "That’s neat, was the arthritis slowing you down way back then too?"

Lou's smile fell. "Now I know you didn’t just call me old-"

"Your hearing going too?" Tani asked.

"She did it again!" Grover kissed his teeth and shook his head, "kids today ain't got no respect. I ought'a catch a bigger fish than you just to teach you a lesson!"

"Oh yeah? Think you can try?" Tani smirked. 

Junior laid a hand on her arm and leaned in close to quietly say, "Tani, remember what we said?"

"I'm not being competitive. I didn’t even mention betting tonight’s bar tab on who gets the biggest fish," Tani shrugged pointedly.

Lou and Steve locked eyes at the idea, and Chin felt the need to roll his. He smirked to himself. He should have known even a little fishing trip like this would end up in a contest.

"Now that’s a good idea," Lou said.

"That’s a terrible idea. You all know how much we can drink and some of us have financial responsibilities!" Chin argued, laughing.

"Mmhmm, some of us have kids to put through college," Steve grinned proudly. 

"Or two," Lou agreed.

"Two kids or two colleges?" Tani teased.

"Just you wait, when your kids are grown and disrespecting you, I'll be the one laughing from my rocking chair," Lou warned.

"On a cloud, looking down at all of us," Tani grinned.

Lou gave her an unimpressed look and barked, "Get your ass on that boat before I throw you on it!" 

Tani threw her head back and laughed as she and Junior boarded the boat first. Steve's face fell.

"Whoa, whoa, I thought Adam was coming," he said.

"He said he couldn't make the fishing, but he'll meet us at the restaurant later," Chin explained. 

"Aw man, he’s missing out," Steve said.

"We'll drink the first round to honour him, now let's _go_!" Lou ushered him onward. 

"No, I'm not getting on that thing until you tell me exactly where we're going."

Jerry pouted as Danny stubbornly folded his arms and rooted himself to the ground, refusing to move.

"Aw Danny! I worked on a whole script to explain it on the way," he whined.

Danny frowned, "A whole script? What script? Read me the script."

Jerry pouted and glanced to Kono, who nodded to give him permission. 

"Fine..." he grumbled. 

He leaned into the van to find the folder he had left on the drivers seat. Danny tucked his hands into his pockets as he watched Jerry shuffle the papers into order. He cleared his throat.

"As you know, it's hard to find things on this island that don’t include doing things you don’t particularly like-"

"That's not true, I like a lot of things that you can do on this island," Danny interrupted. 

"Not any that make a good stag do," Kono pointed out.

"I didn’t even want a stag party, they're stupid!" Danny argued defensively, "Last one I had I ended up waking up handcuffed to a tree in the middle of Chicago with lipstick on my forehead and no pants! It is _not_ happening again."

"No one wants it to Detective-" Jerry began.

"I kind of do," Kono smirked.

"Besides which we are law enforcers. We can't do anything that will show up the governor-" Danny continued firmly. 

"Danny? Sorry, but, I'm not finished," Jerry interrupted.

"You’re not- oh you’re not finished? Not finished, okay, why don’t you go ahead and uh, tell us uh, finish and tell us what to expect," Danny huffed.

"What I was going to say was, we know you never particularly loved O'ahu when you chose to stay here for good-" Jerry continued. 

"Loved Steve though!" Eric interrupt.

"Woo!" Kono cheered in agreement.

Danny hadn’t even noticed Eric arrive, but if he was here, he was even less inclined to get in this van.

"And after searching the internet a _lot_ and with a little help from some old friends-" Jerry continued. 

"Old friends?" Danny wrinkled his nose.

"He means me and Uncle Vito," Eric grinned.

"Oh no. No way- no chance! I am _not_ going on any kind of party that involves them in the planning!" Danny declared stubbornly. 

"Would you shut up and listen?! We put a lot of effort into this and you’re really gonna enjoy it if you let go of this suspicious mind set!" Kono huffed.

Danny blinked in offence but it turned to surprise to hear the other stragglers in the group cheer in agreement.

"Yeah! We can't go on together with suspicious minds!" Jerry piled on, grinning.

The groaning was edged with pinned back laughter.

"It had to be said, it was right there!" Steve beamed.

"Just because you can see a pun doesn’t mean you have to say it," Lou warned.

"No, but what's more enjoyable, a nice day out on the water, or pissing off everyone on the boat with one punchline?" Tani grinned.

"Bad punchlines aren’t for you Tani! They're for us dads who put in the time and effort to annoy our children with them!" Chin explained, biting back a grin.

"Oh God, can you imagine Jerry as a dad? His puns are already awful!" Tani groaned. 

The others laughed and murmured in agreement. Jerry had settled into his role as chief of bad puns, and now days they were getting worse.

"At least the kid would be an explanation for it," Junior said.

"Did I tell you this awful pun Sara came up with the other day?" Chin asked.

The overlapping voices calling over each other encouraged him to do so, so he happily obliged.

"Abby was trying to juggle with some oranges in the kitchen to prove she could do it and she dropped one. I told her she needed to work on her skills if she wanted to win any talent shows. Sara said, "mom, if he can't see how talented you are at juggling fruit it's time to let the _mango"!"_

" _Go on then_ , I'm not stopping you! Finish your little speech," Danny insisted. 

Jerry screwed up his mouth as he glared at Danny. He had put a lot of effort into tonight, and he had been hoping Danny would just go along with things for a change. Of course that would only work if Danny wasn't Danny.

"We're taking you on a tour of the island, to places that you might know, you might not know, some places you definitely know- all over really-" Jerry said, dramatically. 

"What you stalling for time? Get to the point!" Danny demanded.

Jerry deflated at the impatience. This did not bode well for the rest of the day. Eric and Kono shared a knowing look as they tried hard not to laugh.

"We've found a bunch of places in Hawaii that we thought might remind you of places in Jersey that your mom said you enjoyed visiting," he said.

Danny’s jaw dropped in surprise. "You what?" 

"We decided that the best thing we could do for you after you've given up the idea of moving back to New Jersey to stay here with Steve forever-" Kono began.

"Well I never said that," Danny muttered.

"Is she wrong Detective?" Max asked curiously. 

"No, but I never said it!" Danny said firmly.

"Is to show you places that could still feel like home. So if you ever feel home sick-" Kono continued as if she hadn't been interrupted.

"I've lived here for almost twelve years. I don’t tend to get homesick anymore," Danny countered. 

"Well in case you do, you can remember this tour. Besides, there's a drinking contest at the end we're all really excited to get to!" Eric grinned.

Danny laughed and clapped his hands. "Now _that_ I'll enjoy! Lets go!" 

The engine hummed to a stop as they finally reached their chosen spot and slowed to float there. Junior automatically moved to release the anchor as Steve moved away from the wheel to face them.

"Finally! I thought you were gonna sail us right out to Kane!" Tani declared. 

"The night's still young, let's see if we drift that way," Steve winked.

"Uh, we have reservations at seven, so maybe we shouldn't," Junior warned.

Steve reached over to pat his arm and assure him they wouldn't float away, because Junior had just dropped the anchor. Junior blinked in surprise and forced a sheepish smile. He and Tani had been working harder than usual now Danny and Steve had taken a step back from work and the mental effort needed there left very little to spare here.

"I'm sure the owners will push our slot back if were late. Let's fish!" Lou declared.

A cheer went up from the others as they leant forward to grab their equipment. The chatter between them rose as smaller conversations sparked up. Steve was giving Junior tips on how to bait his hook, while Chin and Tani were debating casting techniques. They soon settled in as Junior and Lou passed out the beers.

"So Chin, how old is Sara now?" Steve asked.

"She'll be twelve in a few months," Chin grinned.

Lou laughed, "Oh-ho! Teenage years are coming!"

The ripple of laughter ran across the ship, but Chin laughed it off with them. 

"I'm not worried. She's still a sweet little girl, and she's smart as a whip and-" he began.

"So is Grace, but she's got a mind of her own and that whip can strike back," Steve warned.

"Mmhmm, sometimes Samantha can cut to the core, but its nothing compared to her friends. Those little girls, when they hit puberty, they're vicious," Lou warned.

"Come on guys, this is supposed to be a bachelors party! You guys are sitting round talking about your kids like old men at a barbecue!" Tani said.

"Hey, hey now! nothing wrong with a barbecue. Unless you invite McGarrett," Lou said.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Steve asked. 

"You’re a back seat chef! Hell, you’re a back seat everything, if you’re not in control, you're back seat driving!" Lou accused. 

Steve gave him a dry look, and calmly asked, "Is this because I'm a better fisherman than you?"

"You get heat stroke already? You’re not making any sense," Lou said.

"Drink your beer," Chin interrupted.

He grinned as he tried to stop the two of them butting heads. He flashed a smile at Junior, who was quietly watching and laughing along with the older men. Chin didn't know Junior well, but he could see the military training in him. The rigid posture trained into him. So was the obedience. It was second nature to him to wait to be called upon before joining in, especially around authority. He was so unlike Tani who didn't stop to think before speaking her mind, and so clearly adored her, that Chin couldn't help chuckling.

They were as young and in love as Adam and Kono, and hopefully had far fewer obstacles ahead of them.

"Sorry bruh, usually I can avoid the obstacles when I see the potholes coming, but this buses wheels are wider than I'm used to," Flippa called to Jerry.

Jerry repeated this apology to the microphone for the rest of the van to hear. All of them were being bounced across the rocky roads like popcorn kernels in a pot. 

"How far until our first stop?" Danny asked. 

"Not far, I promise," Jerry said.

"No offence, but you also promised you could prove little green men travelled in comets," Danny said.

"I never said I could prove it, I never said they were green - they're grey - and I said they travelled in _comet like_ crafts in that we would assume they were comets shooting across the sky if we ever saw one," Jerry corrected.

"If intergalactic travel was a possibility, in order for alien creatures to reach our atmosphere would required the speed to be faster than light. The likelihood of any such craft being visible to the naked eye is slim to none," Max agreed. 

"That's great, _where's our first stop?!_ " Danny demanded. 

"There it is!" Flippa announced. 

Jerry spun in his seat to try and see what was going on and where they were headed. Danny craned his neck to try and see around the corner before the car reached it. Jerry grabbed the microphone again and stood up to look down the mostly empty van.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as I'm sure you’re all aware, New Jersey is incredibly proud of their Morey's Pier! The festive lights and fast rides are open to people of all ages to play together with their friends and family, right Danny?" He said. 

Even when he didn't want to, Danny always lit up when he spoke about Jersey. That connection home always made him feel warm inside. A bittersweet nostalgia. Stories just fell from him when he started, and he easily got carried away with them.

"I had my tenth birthday there. I ate so much cotton candy before going on the tilt-a-whirl that I painted the sidewalk pink," he chuckled. 

"I thought you hadn't thrown up since 1996?" Eric said.

Danny leaned in his chair to look at him. "I wasn't ten in 1996 numbskull!"

"If you were homesick for Morey's pier, there's one place on O'ahu you could go, any guesses where?" Jerry asked.

"Punahou Carnival?" Kono snorted.

Jerry's face fell. "How'd you get that so fast?"

Kono gestured to the front of the van, where the brightly lit carnival rides were whirling along the sky. Jerry's shoulders sagged.

"Oh..."

"Is your plan to make us go on some rides?" Danny asked.

He didn't seem keen. He wasn't keen. Although at least this time Kono seemed to have his back.

"I'm not doing that," she said firmly. 

"Aw, c'mon uncle! Why not?!" Eric whined.

"At some point in life you get old enough to look at something like that, and wonder why you'd want to go on. What does it achieve?" Danny asked.

He was looking up at a ride that rose high up above them, swung around on an arm, and plunged back down towards the ground. Just the idea of it made him feel queasy. 

"I believe the rush of adrenaline lends itself to the release of serotonin at the successful test of hubris. Simply put, it's fun to survive," Max said.

"We have fun surviving our job thank you very much," Danny huffed. 

"I'll hold your hand if you're scared," Eric smirked.

"I'm with Danny, this seems like overkill," Kono said.

"I'll hold yours too," Eric offered. 

"Eric," Danny warned.

Kono gave Eric an unimpressed look, but she couldn't stop herself chuckling. It amused her how persistent he always had been. Not as much as Hirsch, but it was still admirable. 

"They also have a collection of competition games that test your dexterity and skill. Shooting games for instance. I imagine they would be much more to your liking," Max suggested. 

"I could shoot something," Flippa approved.

"You’re supposed to be impartial!" Eric cried.

"I am! But I like games too. I love prizes," Flippa shrugged 

"Danny doesn't want us to show him up at his bachelor's party, c’mon, where else are we going?" Kono asked.

"N-nah, nah, hold on now. Show me up?" Danny challenged, scowling.

"It's no big deal Danny, you were always the weakest shot-" Kono began. 

"Compared to you little miss sniper, but against them?" Danny gestured to the others and scoffed.

"Well why else wouldn’t you wanna?" Kono asked.

"Because its a scam! All these stalls are scams, they always have been, that’s how they make money!" Danny argued.

"So it really is like Jersey. C'mon uncle, don’t you miss it?" Eric urged.

Danny rolled his eyes and sighed impatiently. Deep down - really deep down - he kind of did want to see if they had goldfish for prizes here too or if there was something cooler.

"Fine. We'll stop for ten minutes. You're as bad as my kids!" He said.

"How are the kids looking forward to the wedding Steveo?" Chin teased.

"Don’t, don't call me that," Steve wrinkled his nose.

When Charlie had started calling Steve Steveo he was only copying his mother, who was winding up Danny. Since then it had become more of a title. Like a badge of honour gifted from his kids. From outside the family though, it still felt like he was being teased. It made him uncomfortable. 

"Now you know how Danno feels," Chin smirked.

Steve grinned back. When he had first started called his partner Danno, it was meant to annoy him. To tease him for being a sap about his daughter getting his name wrong. But overtime it had become a term of endearment. Steveo was yet to reach that point.

"How are the kids holding out though?" Lou asked. 

"Charlie's looking forward to the wedding," Steve said.

"Thats good," Chin said. 

"It's mostly because he thinks wedding cakes have extra special powers to make a wish come true when you blow out the candles, though," Steve explained. 

"He thinks wedding cakes are like birthday cakes?" Chin asked.

"Well there tends to be things that you do on your wedding night that only ever happen on your birthday afterwards," Junior said.

The men, in their older age and higher wisdom, silently shared an approving look. Silently, because Tani was in between them, and she held the control over Junior's fate in that department. They didn't want to say anything that might influence her decision. 

Tani turned to raise an eyebrow at him calmly. "And how would you know?"

Junior shrugged innocently as the men shared a knowing laugh. None were stupid enough to try and help him. He needed to put down the shovel by himself. 

"So I hear," Junior said.

"From who?" She asked.

"Uh..." he stammered. 

"I hope you like the dog house, keep this up and you'll be sleeping there tonight," Lou chuckled.

Tani hummed in agreement. Junior gave her a sheepish smile, but he knew he was in trouble. Conversation moved swiftly onwards so he could put down the shovel and stop digging the hole he was in.

"What about Grace?" Chin asked. "That girl loves weddings. I remember dancing with her at Kono's. She told me she couldn't wait to get married herself and have a big wedding with all her friends."

"Sounds expensive," Tani approved.

"It probably will be. Danny'll have a heart attack," Lou said.

"Danny won't make it down the aisle. Giving away his baby girl to go off and get married? I'll have to carry him!" Steve chuckled.

"I get it man. I mean, one day Sam's gonna have the best day of her life and I'm gonna drown it out with alcohol. That's the day my baby's officially grown up and doesn't need me anymore, right?" Lou shook his head at the idea.

Chin groaned painfully, "God I haven't even thought about Sara getting married! I only just got her, I'm not ready for her to grow up!"

"As I remember it you weren't ready to take her in either," Steve teased.

"Best decision I ever made! I love that little bunny," Chin said, firmly. 

The smile on his face was so full of pride there could be no doubting him. 

"You never answered the question McGarrett. What does Grace think?" Junior asked.

"Danny was terrified she wouldn't approve of us getting married and now we have to keep reminding her that its _our_ wedding to plan. I don’t think she's done any school work this term, but she dealt with Charlie's tantrum like a pro," Steve chuckled. 

There was so much pride in his smile too. It was the same look Danny had whenever someone mentioned his daughter. They were growing ever more similar by the day. 

"What happened, did you say no shaved ice for breakfast? I did that once, the melt down was insane," Junior said.

"Well you shouldn't be telling me what I can and can't eat! It's my diet, I eat what I like!" Tani argued.

"Charlie found out we were taste testing the cakes and he wasn't there. He had a tantrum over missing out," Steve explained. 

"Let them eat cake, huh?" Chin chuckled. 

"Look, the boy likes cake okay? He also likes shaved ice for dinner and has chocolate milk on his cereal in the morning. Although it's my fault really. This wedding planning is exhausting, whenever Danny's out at work and I have to get Charlie ready for school, it's easier to get him fed quickly so I can get him on the bus when it arrives or I'll miss my opportunity to exercise before work. The last lunchbox I gave him was just a pop tart, and a carton of orange juice, Danny was furious. Once we're back from our honeymoon the whole house is going on a diet," Steve said.

"I remember last time your family went on a diet. You stole my entire box of malasadas," Lou said darkly.

"I remember that. Danny thought the sugar was the thing keeping you up all night and banned it," Chin chuckled.

"He was wrong, it wasn't that," Steve said.

He offered no deeper explanation. This wasn't the time for it.

"That trail of powdered sugar almost got Five-O shut down," Chin said.

Junior frowned in confusion. When Tani glanced to him for clarification, it was clear that neither of them had heard this story.

"What?" She asked. 

"He didn't tell you?" Chin asked in mock surprise. 

"It's not interesting," Steve lied.

Tani opted to ignore this and pay full attention to Chin as he slid a little closer, eager to share the story. 

"Grace was worried that Danny wasn't being hwalthy so he went on a diet. To make sure he didn't feel alone-" Chin began.

"And to stop him from eating Kamekona's shrimp in the car and making him hungry," Lou added.

"Danny made Steve diet too," Chin said.

"McGarrett being McGarrett he's giving it all this, yknow, I was in the Navy, I survived on nothing but bugs for a week to survive the desert-" Lou moved his hand in a pinching motion as he mocked him.

"I did!" Steve argued defensively. 

"Shhh! Boss, please, we're trying to hear the story," Tani hissed.

Steve's eyebrows shot up but he was too amused to be offended. Both kids looked enthralled. 

"Long story short, Steve broke their diet plan. Danny was furious because he was eating in the car again and making it hard for him not to eat. He refused to work with Steve for a whole week, he just blanked him and partnered up with me instead" Chin said.

"That left Steve here with _Officer Kalakaua_ ," Lou said, pointedly.

Steve groaned inwardly to hear the pointed grins audibly through their voices. Stories about him and Kono rarely ended legally. Even the ones that did usually ended with him being shown up. Kono was better than him at almost everything, but proving it tended to get them both jailed.

"They got us banned from Side Street for a month," Chin said.

"Oh my God! Tell me the whole story, I wanna know everything!" Tani beamed.

Back when he was younger he didn't care who knew that he had finally found a team who would happily make him look foolish in one breath, and then follow him into a shootout with the next. He may have been in charge but the team had orignally been on the same level. Whatever consequences they faced they faced together.

But with Tani and Junior on the team, Danny and Steve had become more like parents to the less experienced members. Old stories, like Steve and Kono getting arrested for starting a bar fight, got pushed aside as so not to taint his respectability.

But like every family, once uncles and aunts came home to visit, the kids suddenly discovered new stories and scandals to use against their parents. It was a funny thing to see, even if it was deeply embarrassing to relive it and see the way Tani and Junior saw him change instantly. 

Chin grinned brightly, like a favourite uncle about to read a bedtime story, "Settle in, because I've got a thousand crazy stories I can tell about this man, right Steveo?!"

"Off to the next stop! Come on guys, here's plenty more to see and plenty more stories to tell!" Jerry declared.

They piled back into the van as Jerry ushered them on. The laughter was inescapable as they went. Eric was carrying a large plush panda across his shoulders which be bribed his way into owning. Kono eyed it curiously. 

"That was actually pretty fun, I'm impressed," Danny said as he fell back into his seat.

The others flooded in around him. All of them were still sober, full of sugar, and eager to carry on to the next stop. Max climbed on last, and stopped beside the drivers seat.

"Flippa, I feel sympathetic to your plight and that you are unable to join in the entertainment of the night, and as such I would like to gift you this."

Max held out his hand. In it sat a plush crab. The crab was small and red with marble eyes and clearly very cheaply made. Flippa beamed at it.

"Max! This is so cute! Mahalo bruh," he said.

"I thought since your main trade is in crustaceans you could keep this on your truck dashboard, as a token of appreciation," he explained. 

Flippa beamed, "mahalo brother."

Max smiled back and took his seat. Flippa proudly settled the toy crab on the dashboard so everyone could see it.

"Where'd you even get that?" Eric asked.

Danny glanced back at him, and did a double take when he saw what he was doing. Eric had settled his panda into the seat beside him, and belted him in with the seatbelt. 

"My hand eye coordination must be held to a high standard if I am to do my job well. That same hand eye coordination had allowed me to develop those skills necessary to win the hoops," Max explained.

"The hoops?" Kono snorted.

"He was amazing! He got all six balls in the net, I’ve never seen anything like it," Jerry nodded. 

Jerry threw an arm around Max as he said it, and Max nudged him away as he mimed throwing a basket ball into a net in front of everyone. Danny chuckled to himself. Max had come far from the solitary piano player in a windowless morgue, but he was still an odd dude. Danny was very fond of him.

"How'd you get the bear Eric?" Kono asked.

"Same way I always do. Ring toss and bribes," Eric grinned.

She beamed her star shine grin as she shook her head. "What you gonna do with it now?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "Maybe Charlie-"

"No! No, no, no, he's got way too many toys already, he doesn't need more," Danny said firmly.

"Maybe I'll keep it for the next bundle of joy someone ends up making. Can't be long now," Eric said.

"What makes you think someone's pregnant?" Kono asked.

"Ah, it's that time of year. Everyone starts having kids around now. I'm sure it'll be someone else some time soon. Maybe Grace," he chuckled.

Danny glared at him so darkly that the smile was wiped straight off of his face. "Would you shut up? Never say anything like that again, or I'll stuff that bear so far up you that you look pregnant, got it?"

Eric nodded wordlessly as Kono bit her lip to stop herself sniggering.

"Where are we off to next?" Max asked.

Jerry picked up the microphone to carry on the tour. "While we're on our way to our next location, let me regal you with a story about it's New Jersian representation. It's a beautiful little spot with 70,000 acres. It straddles the border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania and includes a spectacular 40-mile protected stretch of the Delaware River-"

As Jerry spoke, Danny and Eric shared a look. To most people any fair was a fair, and as much fun as this had been, it wasn't Morey's. Neither of them were convinced that the next spot would be any more homely as the last, but they could make it better if one of them was in charge of the guiding.

Danny stood up and supported himself on the chairs as he moved down the van. He grabbed at the microphone but Jerry wouldn't let go.

"Gimme that," he said. 

"Hey- it's my microphone," Jerry argued. 

"It's my party," Danny countered. 

"But-" Jerry began.

"Give him the mike!" Eric cried.

The argument erupted as they cheered for Danny to take over. Jerry begrudgingly gave up his authority to him. He slunk over to an empty seat as Danny stood in the aisle by Flippa.

"I've decided that this would be better if I told you the stories of each place, because Jerry here, he's doing his best, but he's just not showing the full picture. Where's the next spot?" Danny asked. 

"Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area," Jerry grumbled.

Danny's eyes widened, "The Delaware- alright, this whole island is like the Delaware water gap, that's ridiculous, that could be anywhere!"

"Skip it, next place! It better be a Bon Jovi concert!" Eric called.

Danny pointed at him in agreement. Jerry frowned at him. Eric had helped write this tour, he knew exactly where each stop was and Bon Jovi wasn't on the list. Neither, anymore, was the Elvis tribute. It got scrapped when Jerry and Eric got into a heated argument about whether Bon Jovi and Elvis were actually interchangeable.

"We can't go to a concert! We can't leave Max unsupervised!" Kono teased. 

Another eruption of laughter burst across the van as Max chuckled along with them. He had grown to appreciate the horsing around. The teasing was their way of showing affection, and honestly, he had started to miss it while he was away.

"And that's why Kono and Steve aren't allowed to be left unsupervised anymore," Chin finished. 

The hearty laughter that rumbled across the boat echoed into the empty ocean around them. 

"A terrible decision. I withstand that me and Kono could have cleaned up the whole of Hawaii alone," Steve said, earnestly.

Perhaps they could have one day, but it would ultimately have ended with them cleaning up their own messes when they were finished with everyone else.

"Don't you have faith in Danny's decision?" Junior joked.

"Eh..." Steve wrinkled his nose.

"What happened to "Danny and I have complete confidence in one another’s decision making abilities"?" Chin teased. 

Lou chuckled to himself as he recalled the bickering of the restaurant planning. They had no more confidence in their wedding planning than they did of their restaurant. Never had.

"That died when he said he wanted the wedding in Jersey," Steve lied.

"Sounds like he put that offer on the table knowing you'd kick it off so you'd waste a veto," Lou said.

"No we scrapped vetoes when he said I couldn't veto Uncle Vito," Steve smirked. 

"Veto this conversation, I've got a bite!" Lou cried.

There was uproar. 

Trying to pick out one voice to follow in the chaos of contradicting advice was impossible. Then Junior's line twitched as well and the cries broke away into two groups to cheer them on separately. While Junior's broke free, Lou hauled in a fish as big as his forearm.

"Look at that commander! See this big, flappy thing here-" Lou sneered.

He raised the fish up by its tail as it thrashed against him. Chin made a grab for it, closer to its fins to try and help steady it.

"Careful, it'll escape if you don't grab the-" he began.

"This means I'm in the lead, one, nil! Keeps this up and you really will be, Five-O _OH_!"

One flip and it broke free. As Lou tried to tried to thrust the fish towards Steve, and it went flopping to the deck. It knocked over the ice box as it thrashed, throwing bottles of beer all across the deck. One hit Junior straight to the shin, causing him to yelp. While Chin dropped to his knees to try and stop it escaping, Tani yelled at Lou to control his damn fish and Lou yelled back about his damn arthritic knees. The fish flapped towards the edge of the boat as the water and shifting weight caused it to lurch, and punted itself straight back over the edge, and back into the waves.

As the boat rocked back into position and the crew regained control of their panic systems, Chin dropped from where he was squatting to fully sit in the puddle that had splashed onto the boat. He looked up at Lou. 

"Told ya."

"We thought-" Jerry began. 

_"You_ thought! None of us had any input in the tour and you know it!" Eric interrupted. 

Kono jeered in agreement. Jerry rolled his eyes. Eric could deny responsibility, but Jerry had already told Danny he was part of this. Everyone knew he was as culpable as Jerry himself. 

" _I_ thought, you might be missing Steve about now-" Jerry continued. 

"Mmm, no," Danny hummed.

"So we thought we'd- I thought we'd dip into Naval history, and visit Hawaii's version of a popular New Jersey tourist attraction. US Navy's most decorated vessel, the mammoth _New Jersey_ -" Jerry continued.

"The Missouri?!" Danny groaned disdainfully, "Pass!"

Jerry had expected that. Mostly because Kono had already told him the story of the last time that they visited the old battleship docked in the South Channel. It didn't end well. 

"Good thing I didn’t book tickets," he muttered. 

"Yes that was a well advised decision. Shall we do a drive by anyway, so we stay on schedule?" Max asked eagerly.

"Sure. I'll tell you all about how Commander McDumbass got his ass handed to him on a plate because he assumed all Naval officers are as hoorah as him," Danny said sarcastically. 

Eric leaned over the headrest to say quietly to Max, "I don’t understand what he means."

"I believe Detective Williams is wittily referring to the case on the Missouri, when Special Warfare Operator Second Class, Graham Wilson took the ship and all those aboard hostage," Max explained.

"Tani would love this story. I thought she was supposed to be here?" Danny said.

"Uh, she was, but she said that she swapped with Adam so she could keep an eye on Junior," Kono explained. 

"On Junior? That doesn’t sound right," Jerry said.

"Knowing Tani she found out what Steve's up to and she decided she wanted to do that rather than this. What's he up to Kono?" Danny asked. 

Kono put on the most innocent face she possibly could, "How would I know?"

"Because you’re a brilliant detective and you can work out anything," Eric said plainly.

"Eric," Danny warned.

"Just stating a fact!" Eric said defensively.

"Well he's got Chin and Grover with him so he'd probably want to do something dumb and alpha male to show off," Danny said, thoughtfully.

"That sounds like McGarrett," Kono chuckled.

"But if Junior is also accompanying them, the attendance of a younger, fitter male will be embarrassing. Anthropologically, I mean," Max said.

"Does that mean McGarrett will be showed up by Reighs?" Eric asked.

"Yes," Max nodded.

"I agree," Eric nodded.

"Would you either sit down or move to sit next to Max? Leaning over the chair like that isn't safe," Jerry said.

"Ah, I'm fine, Max has a seat belt, what could happen?" Eric scoffed.

As if on cue, Flippa hit another pothole in the road that caused the whole van to thump. While the others were knocked in their seats, Eric's head bashed against the ceiling as he clung to the headrest in front of him.

"Still alive Eric?" Danny asked, unconcerned. 

"Still alive Uncle D... I think I'm gonna sit down now," Eric murmured.

Jerry nodded, "Good idea."

"If Tani is there it'll be just as embarrassing for them," Danny continued, "Junior might be a SEAL but when Tani's around, he's as big a goof as Steve."

"Look! I caught a case!" 

Tani threw her head back and roared with laughter at Junior. He had hooked a case of beer onto the end of his fishing pole and was lifting it back into the air. Steve and Lou shared a look as Chin chuckled to himself. The kids were clearly already drunk. It was rather endearing.

"Did either of you eat a damn thing before coming out tonight?" Lou asked. 

"I thought it would be a good idea to have an empty stomach when we got to the restaurant, because someone else was paying," Junior said.

Steve frowned. "Wait a minute, wait a minute, we were supposed to be fishing. How'd you know we'd even make that bet?"

"Please!" Lou scoffed.

"Yeah, c’mon Steve when have we ever missed an opportunity to bet when it gets competitive?" Chin asked.

Steve pressed a hand to his chest, defensively, "Are you- are you calling me competitive? I’m not competitive, its an unfair reputation I've been given because Danny feels inadequate-" 

There was loud groaning from everyone as they all disagreed with him.

"Remember that time you were convinced you knew this island better than me so you turned a ride back to the palace into a race?" Chin challenged.

"I was trying to prove that you were wrong to take the cornfields - and you ended up helping a cop killer dispose of evidence before they tried to kill you and Kono too!" Steve argued.

"Wait- _what_?!" Tani gasped.

"And we would never have been in that position if you could have admitted you were a wave hog while surfing," Chin said.

"Oh that's true, McGarrett always has to call the wave first, you just have to be faster than him to get there," Junior chuckled.

Steve's mouth twisted, "I knew you did it deliberately! Easily clogged ears my ass!"

"Sorry sir, but I don't supervise, I partake, even just in surfing," Junior apologised remorselessly.

"I thought it was _Danny_ who was the competitive one giving you a bad name? Turns out, you're both as bad as each other," Tani smirked.

"Nah, Danny's worse than I am," Steve said stubbornly. 

"Is that so?" Lou challenged. 

"Affirmative," Steve nodded.

There was an exchange of looks from the others as Steve stared stoically out to the horizon, scanning for signs of fish. Lou cleaned his throat.

"Tell me commander competitive, what's the score between us?" He asked curiously. 

Steve's chest knotted. "That doesn’t prove anything, we both know the score."

"I don’t. No, I've not been paying attention. What is the score?" Tani lied innocently.

"Commander?" Chin asked.

Junior tried to stay out of it, but he grinned anyway. He enjoyed the informality of rank these days. It was something that had taken him a while to get used to, but Tani had always appreciated it. She swept him along with her. 

"I don't - I don't know, I'm not the kind of person who has to fixate on-" Steve began.

"I've got three, McGarrett's on one," Lou lied.

Instantly Steve yelled, _"Two,_ I've got _two,_ and you cannot be counting that dirty old seabass you caught last time either! It was so sickly it was just looking for someone to put it out of it's misery-"

Despite the laughter from the others teasing him, Steve only stopped when Chin cried out over his words.

"Hey that’s what you said last time he beat your fishing score. You know I’m not so sure there are that many suicidal fish in the ocean," he laughed. 

"No there aren’t because they seek out Lou here for an easy exit," Steve said.

"One suicidal fish still beats your none," Lou grinned.

Steve clenched his jaw. "Alright, alright, you might have caught more, but all of my fish - check em, both of them are bigger than any of the shrimp you’ve been pulling out of the water! It's quality not quantity!"

"But you’re not competitive," Tani teased

 _"No!"_ Steve barked. 

The chuckles and teasing subsided as Chin tried to regain control of the conversation. 

"Let's settle this all or nothing so we don't miss our reservations. In the next half hour, we each catch one fish. Whichever one is smallest, that guy pays for dinner," he said.

"What if we don't catch any in half an hour?" Junior asked.

"Then it's current scores, and currently, McGarrett is losing," Chin smirked. 

"What?! You and me are on par, we've both got two each," Steve argued.

"No, we _were_ on par, but this suckers been biting a while now, and I've got him close to the boat!" Chin beamed.

They turned to watch and help as Chin reeled in yet another fish. He had much better control over this one than Lou had. He held it up to show Steve, who kept his jaw clenched and unimpressed. 

"Look at that!" Lou chuckled proudly. 

"Pretty sneaky Chin," Tani said.

Chin blinked innocently, "You don't approve?"

"I totally approve! Y'know Steve said I'd like you, and he was totally right," Tani beamed.

Chin chuckled as he settled the fish back on the deck, "Mahalo."

Steve rolled his eyes, but he was secretly delighted at how easily the team members blended together. Kono and Chin had helped make this task force what it was, and knowing that they approved of their replacements settled a worry Steve never knew he had. He watched as Tani slipped Chin's phone out of its waterproof pouch to take a photo for him to send home. He was going to show Sara the moment he got signal to do so.

Steve felt a swell of pride in his chest for Chin. He had found genuine happiness with Abby. Forged himself a family. Just like Steve had. He was glad they had both found the happiness they deserved.

For various reasons they skipped most of the tour. They passed through Nehoa street to appreciate the Queen-Anne style architecture that was not as similar to the Thomas Edison historical park as Jerry had hoped, and spent half an hour pretending to appreciate the sculptures at the Hawaii State Art Museum. Danny hadn't ever bothered with Grounds For Sculpture that Jerry had based it on, because that was all the way in Hamilton. If he wanted to see art, the Newark Museum was far closer to home. Not that he ever bothered with that much either. He told everyone this over the loud speaker as he took over the tour again. He made sure to add in a story of when one of his ex girlfriends dragged him there and told him he was a philistine for not appreciating the art.

"The next time I heard anyone call me that, it was when Hirsch was complaining to Kono that no one on Five-O appreciated his skill," Danny chuckled. 

"Well then appreciate his skill! He's a good artist," Eric shrugged.

"Excellent brushwork," Max agreed.

"I do appreciate his skill, it's his personality I don't like," Danny said.

"Tani seemed to see something in him. She got him that job in the real art world," Jerry said. 

"Yeah, thanks a lot for that. He rarely picks up a sponge anymore, we keep dealing with cheap workers he's hired instead," Flippa scoffed.

"At least they keep the place clean," Danny said.

Again Flippa scoffed as he sulked against his chair. He wasn’t supposed to be involved, but it was difficult not to join in sometimes. 

"Tani's right to see something in him. He’s got talents that are wasted in this business. Trust me, I'm an artist," Eric declared.

The air in the van hung slightly heavier as a silence filled it around his comments. 

"What?!" Eric demanded, offended. 

"What you do and what he does are two very different things," Kono said.

Danny cocked an eyebrow and folded his arms, "I thought you didn't like him?"

Kono hummed as she thought back to her time with the strange man. She couldn't help smiling slightly at the memories. "Mmm, he's interesting. He's got layers. I mean I haven't seen him in forever, but he was growing on me. I'm glad he found a way back into the art world."

The boys made ooo-ing noises like a bunch of high school kids teasing someone about their crush. Kono felt her cheeks flush at the attention as she kicked the back of Danny's chair scornfully.

"Grow up," she smirked. 

As if on her command, they skipped both the zoo and SeaWorld which were supposed to represent the zoo and the aquarium back in Jersey, which Eric admitted were only added on because they were running low on attractions. Still Danny regaled them with stories of the time they took Grace to see the monkeys and how she got her nickname. 

Eric beamed with pride at the fond memory of the family sitting down the Grace and trying to explain to her why she couldn’t just steal a monkey from the zoo even if she really wanted one. While Rachel and Danny focused more on the legal issues, Vito and Eric were more concerned with practicality. Her apartment was barely big enough for the three of them, and the family home had one tree in the back yard. Neither were practical homes for a monkey, especially a stolen one that everyone would be out looking for. 

"And I said, besides, you’re a big enough monkey for me, why would I want two!" Danny grinned.

An affectionate laugh rolled across the van. Danny's smile was like sunshine to see. He hadn't had high hopes for their idea of a nostalgic tour of Jersey on O'ahu, but the honey tone warmth in his chest proved him wrong to do so. 

"This is the last stop before the drinking starts, let's make the most if it!" Jerry announced.

"Ah yes, the last stop before inhibition. I believe this one will be the most interesting to remember," Max smiled.

"Are you planning on getting inhibited Max?" Eric teased.

"I plan to partake in the jocularity, yes," Max nodded.

"Then this will be the last thing you remember too!" Eric grinned. 

"Remember, you vom on the van, you pay extra for clean up!" Flippa warned.

"And Hirsch is the cleaner so when he finds out we didn't invite him, expect an earful," Jerry added.

"We should have invited him, he’s got connections. He would have loved the museum," Eric said.

"He'd be the only one," Danny muttered.

As he exited the van Danny wondered how quickly he could get them to give this up too. It was the alcohol he was here for. Kono and Jerry shared a knowing look as she passed by him. Neither would say a word to Danny yet. It was too early. They still had one last trick to play on him.

Junior and Steve finished tying up the boat together as Chin packed away the equipment safely, and hid the coolers below deck. He had had every intention of docking the boat himself, after all he had plenty of experience, but the SEAL's had naturally taken over and Chin wasn't one to prevent a creatures natural instincts. 

Besides, it meant less work for him. 

"Where we off to next?" Steve asked as he hopped of the boat.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'd like a shower, I stink of fish!" Tani said.

"Good idea," Lou said.

He sniffed at his own shirt and decided that any restaurant that would let him in smelling like this, he didn't want to be at. 

"Our place is closest, you're welcome to shower there," Junior offered. 

"I think I need a change of clothes," Steve said.

"Danny still got that shirt I leant him for the gym that he never gave back?" Chin asked. 

"Yep," Steve nodded. 

"Let's see if he notices it's gone!" Chin said.

"Great, we'll meet at McGarrett's and head to the restaurant from there," Lou said.

Making plans as a team was as easy and snapping fingers when Danny wasn't there to complain. Chin leaned into the back of his car through the window and found the cowboy hat that they had left in there from earlier. He dropped it back onto Steve's head.

"Ready for one last ride partner?" He mocked.

Steve laughed as he ran a finger along the brim and winked, "Saddle up!"

"Old men shouldn't wear skates!"

Eric complained while he sulkily stuffed fries into his mouth. Kono chuckled at him as she sucked the shaved ice off of the small shovel like spoon. She had her leg propped up onto a chair beside her, with a bag of ice resting on her knee. Danny set his drink down as he shrugged at Eric. 

The last attraction had been an attempt at roller derby. They had rented out the same track that had once been a crime scene, and fitted everyone with skates. The rules were simple. Everyone started skating at the same time except Danny. Once everyone had done one lap, Danny then started skating. He needed to complete a lap first to catch up to everyone else, and after that everyone had to keep track of him. They had to take one shot for every time Danny lapped them, and another shot for every time they fell over. They were supposed to go for three rounds, but they only managed two. 

"You're just jealous that I lapped you six times!" Danny said. 

"I found it invigorating. I wonder if could have taken a different path if I had found this sport sooner," Max said.

All eyes turned to him as he ate his tofu and salad.   
Early into the first round, having successful avoided being lapped a single time, Kono took a fall. It was odd because no one was near her, and she was as good on skates as Catherine had been, and she had came second. Kono had sat out for the rest of the game, cheering them on as she rested safely on the side lines. It was nowhere near as odd as Max, however, who was far better at skating than anyone had expected. Before today they couldn't imagine him in a pair of roller skates. Now it seemed like his back up career path.

"You'd give up being a doctor for roller derby?" Kono asked. 

"Only if I was adept at it. It appears my balance is better than I had anticipated," Max said.

"Low centre of gravity," Jerry said to Eric. 

Eric nodded in agreement, but only because he wasn’t sure how else to respond. It felt better saying Max had a low centre of gravity than to admit Eric just wasn't as talented at skating than he bragged about being. It had been a long time since street hockey, and that had always ended up in a fight before either team could win.

"I enjoy my work, it's fascinating, but most of my time working with the dead was spent alone. I find myself wondering if I could have done more with that time," Max said.

"Ah, that's just age. We all get like that sometimes. The trick is to appreciate the good things that the other path lead you too, right Kono?" Danny said.

"You calling me old?" Kono challenged. 

"No, but you might know a thing or two about regret," Danny countered.

"Right. If I hadn't blown out my knee, maybe I would have become a world renowned surfer and I would never have been a cop, or met Adam, or any of you," Kono agreed.

"If I had stayed in Jersey without Grace or Rachel, I'd never have met Steve," Danny said.

"Sure, life could take you in another direction, but the one that took you here is a pretty good one. It brought us all together, and it wouldn't be the same without you," Jerry said.

There was a general murmur of affection between them all as the same kind of drunk warmth ran through them. Although the varying levels of alcohol between them made them all react differently. 

"We're way too sober to be talking like this," Kono laughed.

The general laughter agreed with her. Danny took another bite out of his burger and gestured towards her.

"How's the knee?" He asked, through his food. 

"Cold," Kono joked.

She adjusted the ice pack on her leg. It didn't look very swollen, but she kept it cold anyway. In fact, it barely looked injured at all. Maybe slightly bruised. Almost as if she hadn't fallen as much as dropped down to her knees.

"Can you still walk down the aisle?" Danny asked.

"If it comes to it, I'll put my skates on and you can roll me down!" Kono promised. 

"That I'd like to see," Danny laughed.

The difference in the meals filling out their stomachs changed how drunk each of them were getting. Or at least how drunk they appeared to be getting. Fortunately Danny's loaded fries had soaked up enough of the shots he had been forced into to sound sober when his phone rang.

"Hey ma-" Danny began through another mouthful of food.

He paused at the sound of the wrong voice talking back to him. Kono watched as he sat up and swallowed down his food. His tone softened too.

"Hey buddy what's up?"

In that instant Kono knew exactly who was at the other end of the phone. Whenever he spoke to his kids, he was always more gentle, even if they had been interrogating an infuriating perps just seconds before. It was always something that amused her.

"Oh no, what happened? No, we're fine buddy, we're just out with some grown ups."

"Aloha Charlie!" Kono called.

"Auntie Kono says aloha," Danny said.

"Is that Charlie?! Hi Charlie!" Eric yelled from the other end of the table.

A chorus broke out of the bachelors party all calling out to the little boy at the end of the phone. Danny plugged one ear in order to hear him better.

"I can't come home right now, but I'll be there in the morning. Did Grandma make you a hot chocolate? You gotta try her hot chocolates they’re amazing... Okay, I'll be home soon bud, try to get some sleep. Danno loves you."

Kono smiled. It had been a long time since she heard him hang up so affectionately. More often than not he would make a point of hanging up mid sentence because someone was annoying him. He always looked so happy when he talked to his family though.

"Kids huh?" Kono said. 

"Charlie had a nightmare. He thought Steve and I weren't coming home," Danny explained. 

"Wow. Late night stuff has gotta be hard," Kono said, calmly.

Danny nodded, smiling to himself. "It's harder when they’re babies. When it's three am and you've had two hours sleep, and you’ve got this bundle of flesh and bones that's screaming at you and you don’t know what it wants so you don’t know how to make it stop - it's tough, it is."

"I'll bet," Kono nodded hesitantly. 

Danny's smile was always warm when he remembered Grace as nothing more than a pink lump in a diaper. But he chest ached all the same when he thought of Charlie. It had hurt to even look at Charlie when he was that small. Steve had spent more time with him than Danny had back then. It didn’t help anything to feel guilty or disappointed by what he couldn't change, but that didn't stop him. He pushed that aside to the best of his abilities and tried to focus on what he had to appreciate now. 

"But you love that thing more than anything in the world. It doesn't matter how bad things get, you love them more than anything. Nothing else matters as long as they're okay, y'know?" Danny said.

Kono considered this quietly, nodding as she did. "I remember when Gracie got kidnapped and you even shot Stan to make sure she'd come home safe."

"Yeah well that sucked, but at least I knew you guys would understand why I had to do it. When Steve was there, when I saw him, I knew he'd help me make things right," Danny said. 

It was strange, but it was true. Although he was horrified at the situation, the moment he saw Steve, he knew everything was going to be okay, because Steve had figured out what was going on and that meant Steve understood. As long as he understood, then all of Five-O did. It didn't matter if no one else did, because they did, so whatever happened, they wouldn't abandon him.

It still sucked though.

"You could have lost your job. Grover did lose his. Are kids really worth giving up everything?" Kono asked.

Danny snorted. He didn’t hesitate to answer. "Yes. Well, I can't speak for everyone, but yeah. To me, I'd give up everything for them. I have. I gave up my home, I gave up my dog, my job, my girlfriends, my bone marrow - and all I get in return is endless worry and complete pride."

"But it's worth it?" She asked. 

"So worth it. Hey, what's with all the questions anyway? You and Adam thinking of finally making the world's most dangerous ninja?" Danny teased.

Kono looked surprised as she laughed, "You think my kid would be a ninja?"

"Well with a dad like Adam, a mom like you, and an Uncle like Chin they'd definitely be the smartest kid around. Probably with the biggest heart. And yeah, some real ninja defence moves," Danny said.

"Like Grace? I've seen her fight, she's got some moves," Kono smiled.

When Grace was younger, Kono had come across her playing with Kamekona. The two of them were play fighting, which wasn't always the safest idea since Kamekona didn't always know his own strength. Kono was supposed to be taking Grace straight home to Rachel, for her own safety, but she figured that helping Grace learn the basics about keeping her form as she fought was more important for her long term safety. 

The lessons just kind of planned themselves after the first one. They only spent half an hour a week working on her self defence skills, and sometimes Chin helped out by covering her either at work or with Grace, but it made them all feel safer. And as far as she knew, no one ever told Danny.

"Don’t get me wrong, I don't like to encourage the fighting, but she really does. I'm pretty sure Steve taught her half of them," Danny said.

"Yeah. Steve," Kono smirked.

She took a long sip of her drink as she had finally satisfied a question in the back of her mind. Their weekly classes were kept quiet. That was fine by her. At least she had done what she could to keep the kid safe. 

"And I know you taught her the rest."

Kono choked on her drink. Danny handed her a napkin as it trickled down her chin. It wasn't incredibly dignified, but it was funny. 

"How did you-" 

"You think I didn't recognise the classic Kono round kick?! Of course I did, I've seen you put down three men twice your size with that!"

"You never said anything."

"Then I'll say it now." Danny rested a hand on her forearm and looked her straight in the eye as he said, seriously and earnestly, "Thank you for teaching my daughter to defend herself. If I can ever repay the favour I'd be happy to. Not that I'd need to. I'm sure Adam can handle that himself."

Kono rolled her head to one side, trying to mask her blush as she smiled warmly. "Mahalo."

"I'm sure I can too," Adam said.

He flashed them all a smile as a cheer went up around the table to see him. Hugs were flowing like the drinks as they welcomed him to the party. He stopped beside Kono to kiss her cheek.

"That looks nasty," he said, gesturing to the ice pack.

"Nothing I can't handle," she said.

Her smug grin let him know she wasn't kidding. Adam couldn't help smiling back. There was such a love struck shine in his eyes that Danny smiled too.

Meanwhile on the other side of the island, with the exception of Tani and Junior, Steve's party was still mostly sober. 

"I'd like to make a toast. Firstly, it needs to be said, Junior! While your skills as a SEAL are impeccable, and your skills as a detective as astounding, your fishing leaves a lot to be desired. Like the ability to catch a single fish! That being said, you're paying for dinner, so mahalo."

Lou snorted under his breath, "Fool."

Junior rolled his eyes and smiled, "Thanks commander."

"And I honestly just wanna say thanks to all of you for being here today. If you told me ten years ago that I would be standing here today, about to marry that asshole cop that punched me in the face-" Steve continued. 

"God I wish I'd seen that," Lou groaned. 

"I would definitely have gotten into a fight with you, and I would definitely have won it," Steve continued.

"You were a straight up savage! You walked out of the Navy like Robocop! First day I met you, you went and dangled some poor idiot over the edge of a building- Danny was a cop, he was right to punch you!" Chin laughed. 

"Thank you for that Chin, y’know this toast isn’t really supposed to be interactive," Steve argued.

"Too late," Tani shrugged.

Steve made a show of rolling his eyes in the same way that Danny always rolled his at him. If he had still had more to say it wouldn't have mattered, because Kamekona was bringing over their meals now. 

"An extra bottle of bottom shelf whiskey, on the house," Kamekona declared. 

He set the bottle on the table between them.

"Bottom shelf! You do know how to splash the cash," Lou said sarcastically. 

"We've known you since you were serving nothing but shave ice and information-" Steve began.

"Some of us have known you since before even that!" Chin countered. 

"Now you've grown into a huge success, you've taken our restaurant and run with it, to open this beautiful steakhouse and luau-" Steve continued.

"Mahalo, it's always nice to have my skills appreciated," Kamekona said.

"So I just got one question to ask, just one," Steve said.

"Shoot," Kamekona said.

"Why are you so cheap?!" Steve demanded. 

Everyone at the table had known exactly where this was going, and yet now they were here, they still cheered in agreement.

Kamekona folded his arms. "Haven't we already had this argument? I’m a business man bruh, it's nothing personal, its just-"

"Business?" Chin offered.

"Exactly. He gets it," Kamekona said firmly. 

The conversation between them rose as Steve watched some of the staff sweep a long protective cloth off of a sleek black piano. The entire restaurant had a similar sleek black mystique to it. It was a steakhouse already. A gentlemen's restaurant. Mildly seedy, but the entertainment was usually top notch. 

"Who's on the piano tonight? Is Nicky around?" Steve asked. 

"No, no matter how much I offer him, he won't leave that dying tikki bar! Brother's like a rat in a sinking ship but he won't jump into my sail boat!" Kamekona tutted.

Steve was going to lecture on the definition of loyalty, but he had thought of a more prominent argument in his opinion. "That's a point, you’ve got a boat and a helicopter tour now, _both_ of which I helped you get licenses for, the helo Danny helped you _get,_ all before we gave you our restaurant-"

"Jeez, if you’re so unappreciative, I'll charge the whiskey to your bill!" Kamekona threatened.

Junior sat upright a little straighter as he instantly yelped, "N-no no no! No, no! Don't uh, don't, don’t do that."

Kamekona's gaze shifted from Junior to Steve, accusingly. "You got the keiki paying? That's cold."

"He lost a bet," Lou argued.

"Now that I understand. Speaking of which, if any of you wanna update your bets before the big day, drop me a line. You know where to find me," Kamekona winked.

Just like that he left an icy breeze across the table as everyone but Steve had to pretend they didn’t know what he was talking about. Steve arched an eyebrow. He rested his hands on the table as he glanced between them all. They all avoided eye contact. 

"What’s uh... what’s he talking about?" He asked.

"No idea," Tani pursed her lips as she lied.

"Not a clue," Junior shrugged. 

Chin stuffed a mouthful of steak into his mouth so he didn’t have to reply. Lou tried to do the same with the whiskey, and his eyebrows rose. 

"Y’know this stuff ain't that bad," he said, pleasantly surprised.

"You guys taking bets on my wedding?" Steve accused.

"No. No, no, of course not. No one wants anything to happen at your wedding," Tani shrugged.

"That's not what I asked," Steve pointed out.

"Seriously, try some of this. I'm thinking Kamekona's got something good here. I bet the mark up is enough to make me spit up," Lou said.

"Okay, I get it, something goes wrong at every major event in our lives, okay, whatever, but please - _please_ don’t let Danny find out about this. I don't want him thinking its a bad omen," Steve insisted. 

"Oh now he's worried about omens?" Chin scoffed. 

"He seemed pretty chill about Pele on the Pali Road," Tani said.

"You guys saw Pele on the Pali Road?!" Chin gasped. 

"No, we didn't. We saw a man murdered by a victim of a brutal attack who was re-enacting revenge stories to become a part of folk lore herself, _not_ a ghost of Pele," Steve said, firmly. 

He hadn't seen either, he had been busy, but he believed Danny's report. He had to. Danny wouldn't shut up if he didn't. Chin, however, didn't believe him in the slightest. 

"Uh huh. Y'know my grandfather saw the Night Marchers once," he said.

Tani gasped, "Oh my God really?!"

"Y’know between you two and your ghosts, Max's Frankenstein, and Jerry's- well, Jerry, anyone would think monsters were real in Hawaii," Lou chuckled.

"Maybe they are. Maybe they've just morphed to look like us and fit in. There could be any number of them all around us right now," Junior said.

He held Lou's gaze as Lou glanced, unimpressed, between the three of them. Finally he scoffed and reached for the whiskey to refill his glass.

"I'm too sober for this."

Their night continued as under the table, Steve texted Clara.

_Just checking in, how is everyone?_

**Charlie had a nightmare but Danny sorted it. Enjoy your night, don’t worry about us.**

_is he okay?_

**yes, go back to your party!**

_Call me if he wakes up again. Tell him Steveo loves him_

_**Ok Steveo :)** _

"Steve? Everything okay?"

Steve hesitated to look away from his phone as Chin spoke to him. When he finally did, he forced him a smile, as if he wasn’t concerned about Charlie's nightmare before the wedding day.

"Yeah. Yeah, everything’s great."

"So are you gonna stay McGarrett?" Tani asked. 

"I'm not planning on going anywhere," Steve said.

"No," Tani laughed, "I mean, are you going to keep your name?"

Steve shrugged. "Well we talked about it. I said I'd take his name, but we both agreed that Commander Williams didn't have the same ring to it. At the same time Detective McGarrett a name that's always gonna get flagged whenever we try and do anything together, so it's a tough decision."

"Have you thought about double barrelling it? McGarrett-Williams?" Chin said.

"Williams-McGarrett sounds better," Lou said.

"Or you could combine them and become McWilliams. Take the sting out of it for both of you," Junior said.

"I actually suggested that. Danny did not approve," Steve said.

"Detective and Commander McWilliams... it rolls right off the tongue," Lou said.

"See we don’t have that problem because Rey and Reigns are too similar to make a difference," Junior said.

"Except if you took my name you'd be Junior Ray," Tani said.

There was a snorting sound as the others tried not to laugh. 

"Sounds like a sunbed for kids," Steve said.

"Whereas Tani Reigns is just a fact," Tani grinned.

Another wave of bickering rose off of this statement. 

On both sides of the island the drinking lead to trips down memory lane, which lead to Jerry leaving Danny's party last. He drove Danny home and took him to bed. Danny merrily protested ("I'm a married man! Almost.") but allowed himself to be tucked into bed, fully dressed. Jerry left a bucket by the foot of the bed and a glass of water on the bedside table too. He felt bad leaving, knowing that the house was empty, but it wouldn't be long before Clara brought the kids home so it wouldn't matter.

Anyway, he had to leave to pick up Steve from his party, where he was welcomed with open arms. The drinking part of this party had started later than Danny's and Steve didn't want to go yet. 

However he also couldn't keep his eyes open.

Between them, Jerry and Chin managed to get him back to the car where Jerry could safely drive him home. Since Eric was staying with him, he was in the passenger seat, also passed out already. They let Steve lay across the back seat.

"Good luck Jer," Chin winked.

"Thanks, but I've got this," Jerry said, proudly.

Chin nodded, smirking, and knocked on the roof to let him go. He chuckled to himself as he watched Jerry drive down the street. It had been a good night.

Just like old times.


	4. Chapter 4

Weeks earlier, they had been sitting in the main room of their house, writing out invitations for the wedding. Danny was sitting on the couch, writing them out to check everyone was included, while Steve sat on the floor, licking the envelopes and putting on stamps. He was going to ask if there was any point wasting money on a stamp for Eric given that he was staying with Jerry, and they were going to see both of them in a few days, when a more pressing question came to mind.

"Hey, what'd you think Eric'll get us?" He asked.

Danny didn't look up as he repeated, "Get us?"

"As a wedding present," Steve said. 

"Eric?" Danny raised his head and shrugged. "I dunno, probably nothing, he’s not exactly flush. Why?"

"Few years back he got me this," Steve reached out to the side table where he had safety hidden the army knife. He handed it to Danny. "Jerry helped, but this has Eric written all over it."

Danny looked down at the engraved words along the side and snorted. "We need to get your eyes checked, that says _McGarrett."_

Steve gave him a dry look as he pretended to laugh. Danny put it down, disinterested. Steve picked it up and turned it over in his hand.

"It's awesome though. This little beauty has saved my life like three times," he said.

"Along with everything else in here right?" Danny said.

"I was thinking about getting one for Charlie to teach him when we go camping," Steve said.

Danny frowned for two reasons. Firstly he didn’t really want his son to have access to and knowledge of how to use a knife. Secondly, he had forgotten that Steve ever asked him about taking Charlie camping.

"You uh, you were serious about that?" He asked.

Steve nodded. "Yeah. Charlie really wants to go. You said it was okay."

"I didn’t think you were serious!" Danny argued, "Remember what happened last time we went camping?"

"Grace's friend fell in love with me. I don’t think that'll be a problem with Charlie," Steve teased.

"The kid got a crush on you because you kept her alive until Chin could find her while Gracie and I were trapped in a shed, and I was shot," Danny said, plainly.

Steve stared blankly and asked, "What's your point?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "If camping was a good thing people wouldn't have invented hotels."

"C’mon, it'll be great! We'll fish, cook on a camp fire, navigate by stars-"

"I thought you said you didn’t want Charlie to join the navy,"

"I don’t. I really, really don’t, but this is basic survival skills. Grace learned them, she's the best fighter I know after Kono. What if Charlie gets kidnapped?"

"We're retired, who's coming after us?"

"Old rivals come out of the woodwork all the time. Look at Duke. His granddaughter was taken. Charlie deserves a fighting chance if they ever got to him."  
Danny eyed him suspiciously. "How much of this is you wanting to go, and how much of it is Charlie wanting to go?"

"You think I want to sleep on a blow up mattress in a sleeping bag, with my back?" Steve scoffed.

"A blow up mattress? You told me that was an unnecessary luxury. That in the navy mother earth was your mattress, and the dried leaves were your first defence against heat loss," Danny snorted.

"That was before I injured my back," Steve said.

"Not before you became an expert den builder then," Danny muttered to himself. 

There was a quiet bitterness to it that Steve didn't understand. Danny's shoulders had tensed as he stared down at the wedding invitations. Steve suddenly felt as though he was in trouble.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." 

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Danny, it's me. You can tell me anything."

"It's nothing, it's not, it's- it's just..." Danny sighed as he tried to find the words.

Steve watched him, waiting patiently for an answer. Danny's chest ached. The pen in his hand twitched as he considered lying. He wished he'd just kept his mouth shut. Again he sighed.

"It's not your fault, but... when you left I found Grace outside throwing a knife. Throwing _this_ knife."

...

_"What are you doing?! Are you crazy?! This is so dangerous, what’s the matter with you?!"_

_"It's not dangerous, Danno, I know what I'm doing."_

_"Oh you know what you’re doing? Oh that changes everything, every time someone’s said I know what I’m doing everything’s gone to plan!"_

_Danny wrestled the knife out of her hand, despite her protests, and closed the blade so no one could get hurt, even accidentally. She glared at him for it._

_"Uncle Steve taught me," she spat._

_"Uncle Steve's an idiot. Don't listen to uncle Steve," Danny said firmly._

_"Is that why he left?"_

_Danny looked down at the hammock in surprise. He hadn't noticed Charlie laying in it with his arm over the edge, resting his head on that to quietly watch his sister throwing a knife at the tree. He was sulking really. He had been sulking for days, but this was worse, because now he seemed genuinely angry too. Not as angry as Grace though. By the splinters in the tree trunk it was fairly obvious that she had been throwing this knife for a while, and throwing it hard._

_"Charlie? I didn't see you there, you were throwing this knife in front of Charlie?" Danny accused._

_She shrugged, carelessly. "It stopped him throwing rocks."_

_Danny frowned. "You were throwing rocks?"_

_Charlie pouted. He slumped down the hammock to avoid eye contact. Danny looked up at Grace for answers. She had picked him up from school today, so she had more of an idea why he was in a mood._  
_Grace knew exactly why he was annoyed, because she was too for the same reason. However she supported his right to sulk, so she shrugged at her father._

_"He's angry," she said._

_Danny rolled his eyes at her. He softened as she looked down at Charlie. "What's wrong? What’s the matter, why are you angry?"_

_Charlie hid his face under his arms so his voice was muffled as he complained, "Uncle Steve never turned up."_

_Danny frowned. "Huh? Never turned up where?"_

_"Uncle Steve was supposed to take me to the sand castle competition today, but he's not here and Grace wont take me!" Charlie complained._

_Grace didn’t want to go without Steve. Honestly she didn’t really want to go with Steve either, but she definitely didn’t want to go without him. Danny's chest heaved to hear it._

_When Steve mentioned leaving it seemed like the best to do. He never had time to get used to be alone, or find out what he liked and what he wanted from life, because he was always working to orders. Steve was practically begging for permission when he said it, like Danny would ever have tried to hold him back. Neither had even thought about how it would affect these two._

_Guilt sat on Danny to see how upset the kids were._

_"Oh buddy... Uncle Steve isn't on O'ahu anymore," he explained gently._

_"Why not? When's he coming home?" Charlie whined._

_Steve had left on a journey to find himself and they had no idea when he would be back, if ever. Danny couldn't bring himself to admit that he might not see him again._

_"I don’t know bud. But if you wanna go to the sand castles, I'll take you," Danny said._

_"I want uncle Steve!" Charlie whined louder._

_Danny's chest ached harder. He was used to Charlie wanting Rachel instead of him, sometimes - rarely - he still asked for Stan too. That hurt._ This _was agony._

_"Grace-"_

_"I want uncle Steve too."_

_Eddie whined loudly. Danny looked down at him, betrayed. While he was distracted, Grace took the opportunity to quietly steal back the knife Danny had set on the ground beneath the hammock._

_"Et tu Eddie?"_

_Eddie let out a loud huff as he buried his chin between his paws. Danny had never known a dog to look so sad, and this one had travelled halfway across the island to sit by his old master's grave._

_The trouble was that there was no replacing Steve. By now Danny had met enough Navy SEALs to know they were all crazy, but Steve was a special level of crazy. It came from his need for justice. To protect the people he loved. Because he was reckless with his affections, as he was with everything else in life, and everyone else was just too controlled._

_"Where is uncle Steve Danno?" Grace asked quietly._  
_It ached to admit it, but Danny didn’t have another answer for her. "I don’t know."_

_"Great, so I can't even send him the stupid picture!" Grace cried._

_She furiously threw the knife across the garden, directly at the tree trunk. In her frustration she had forgotten to open the blade again. It smacked into the trunk with a thud and fell back to the ground._

_"Did I say you could have that back?" Danny asked sternly._

_Grace glanced at him and rolled her eyes. Danny frowned. She walked away from him to retrieve her knife. Before, Danny used to be able to scold her just by raising an eyebrow. Right now she didn’t seem to care._

_"What picture?" Danny asked._

_"I graduated! Steve promised he'd come to get my photos with us. He said that could be our celebration since he couldn’t come to the ceremony," Grace said. She opened the blade this time as she took aim again. Her focus was tight on the truck as she blinked the tears out of her eyes. "He lied."_

_Danny felt the thunk of the knife in the tree like it had hit him instead. Before she could sniff away the tears and head for the trunk, he caught her arm._

_"No, no, monkey, he didn't lie. He was wrong. He didn't lie," Danny insisted._

_"It feels like he lied."_

_She met his gaze for only a second, but the way they brimmed with tears made him feel so utterly helpless. When he looked back down at Charlie, Charlie buried his head in his arms. Even Eddie stopped wagging his tail._

_That was the moment Danny started to realise how much time Steve actually spent with the kids. How hard he worked to keep promises to them. Even Danny couldn't keep all of his promises, but Steve never made one unless he was certain he could keep it._

_Until now._

_Danny did his best to put on a smile and brighten the day up for them. "Why don't we all go to the sand castle contest together huh? We can text uncle Steve some pictures and show him what he’s missing!"_  
_Charlie and Grace shared a look. They silently came to the same conclusion, but Charlie was younger and he couldn't always stop his impulses._

_"It won't be the same."_

_Danny hated that he knew he was right. Even so, he forced himself to keep smiling, just like he had when Grace was young and Rachel left._

_"Sure it will, it'll just be me instead of Steve, huh? I’m as good as your uncle, right?" He said._

_Once again the siblings exchanged a look. Neither had anything to say of their own. Grace's thumb ran along the engraving of Steve's name on the knife._

_"Charlie's right. It wont be the same."_

_Danny let the mask slip. He couldn't help it. It was like a knife to the flesh. It was one thing for Grace to think her fun uncle Matt was cooler than her over protective father, but_ Steve?! _That just wasn't fair._

_"Uncle Steve always sneaks us into the VIP section and they let us build sculptures too. He said this year I could decide what we built. I wanted to build a battleship," Charlie grumbled._

_"A battleship huh?" Danny repeated quietly._

_"I don't wanna go without uncle Steve," Charlie said._

_Danny took a deep breath to calm himself enough to remember why he was trying to pretend to be happy._

_"No? That’s okay bud, we can have a good day here instead! We can, uh, we can," Danny glanced around for ideas, "we can build a den out here! That'll be fun, right? Your own secret den?"_

_"Uncle Steve's an expert den builder," Charlie said, glumly._

_"Uncle Steve's a SEAL. He's got survival training. There's plenty he can do that I can't," Danny said plainly._

_"Like throw knives?" Grace asked._

_She gestured with the now closed knife as she spoke, which made the sun glint off of it. Danny frowned._

_"Let me see that-" he said. She held it out to him. Danny turned it over in his hands to read the engraving. "This is Steve's knife."_

_"Actually Eric gave it to him. He said I could have it in case I ever got into trouble again," Grace said._

_"You call this trouble?" Danny nodded to the tree._

_Grace wrinkled her nose. "Sorry Danno."_

_Danny frowned in confusion. "What'd you mean trouble_ again?"

_Grace blinked as she recalled the day Steve had given her this knife. It came with two instructions. Only use it if it was unavoidable, and if Danny ever asked about it, plead the fifth. She kept her mouth shut instead. Danny just shook his head and sighed._

_"Look, you’re allowed to miss Steve. I do. God knows I do. All I'm asking is that you don't let the sadness get in the way of things that matter. You still need to apply to colleges, and you need to be a kid. Did Steve teach you how to build a den?"_

_"Sure, but-" Charlie began._

_"Then you can teach me," Danny declared._

_"I don't wanna build a den Danno," Charlie whined._

_"Come on guys! Even if Steve's gone, I'm still here! We're still a family! We can have fun, right? Right?" Danny insisted._

_Charlie did not agree, but Grace had seen that pleading look of desperation before. Danny wanted them to be happy. He needed to know they could still have fun together. They always had before. There was a good year at least between the divorce and Steve entering their life. In that time, they had learned how to have fun together, alone. Except this time, they had Charlie too._

_Grace glanced at her little brother. He deserved to have some fun, even if she was furious. She sighed._

_"Okay Danno. Let's build a den."_

_Having grown up in a city, Danny wasn't exactly experienced at building dens from garden supplies. Sure, he could build a pillow fort fit for royalty, but outdoorsy stuff like this was where he relied on Steve. Before Steve ever considered being a naval officer he was a boy scout. This sort of thing was where he shone._

_But that didn't matter._

_It didn't matter that they built their den around the hammock for extra support, or that it could barely fit all three of them in it, or that there were gaping holes in the roof, because they built it together. In the fleeting hour it took for them to form this structure of carefully balanced sticks, they worked together. They laughed. For a moment, they forgot Steve wasn't there telling them how to do it. They didn’t even need him, Charlie was there. He was their resident expert._  
_They huddled around the door, Grace inside, Charlie in the doorway, and Danny outside, and they took a selfie with their den to send to Steve._

_It was more to show Danny that they didn't need anyone else. They could work together to make things work. But if he had been there, if he had helped them to build it, maybe it wouldn’t have been devastated in seconds by Eddie jumping onto the hammock_.

...

Steve had not thought about the photos Danny sent him in the early days of his trip very often, and not at all recently. When he first started getting them, it was nice to know that they still remembered him. After a while, it felt like they were showing off. They still had each other while he was alone. He had never considered that it was being they missed him as endlessly as he missed them.

"I'm... I'm really sorry..."

"No, please. Don't be."

A bubble of guilt had engulfed both of them for entirely separate reasons. Steve hated that he had made them feel abandoned when he left, and Danny felt awful for making him feel guilty for needing time to himself.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for. I shouldn't have brought it up," Danny insisted. 

"If I hadn't left-"

"No, you had to leave, you wanted to, it's fine."

"You needed me. I should have been here. If I had stayed-"

"Then who knows where we'd be by now. Maybe we wouldn't have gotten here!"

"Yeah, but-"

"No. No buts. It isn't your fault and it doesn't even matter anymore. I wish you could see that."

Danny ran his hand along Steve's cheek gently. Steve didn't say anything, but the way he closed his eyes told Danny exactly what he was thinking. Too much responsibly had rested on his shoulders for far too long. He couldn't see when it wasn't his fault anymore. 

Danny moved closer to sit on the end of the couch right beside Steve. He ran his fingers softly through his hair as he spoke.

"Look, I know you’re not about to go anywhere. I know you'd do anything for this family. You didn't know what would happen to us when you left, you did what was best for you, and you deserved it. Cut yourself a break."

Steve leaned half against the couch leg and half against Danny's. Danny leaned over to kiss his head and assure him that everything was okay. Steve didn't buy it.

Steve was in a catch-22 type situation. He loved his family and he desperately wanted to prove to them that he was all in, and he would always be there for them. At the same time, he loved his family and he hoped they never found themselves in a situation where that opportunity arose.

"You mean the world to me," he muttered to himself.

Danny was close enough to hear, and he hummed quietly back. "I know babe. You're the second most important thing in my life."

That was enough for Steve. Just to know he'd always be second place to the kids was more than he'd ever expected, but he had proof now. He twisted the engagement ring on his finger to remind himself that he was loved. No matter what mistakes he had made, Detective divorce-is-inevitable-don't-bother-to-get-married Williams was going to marry him. They were writing out the invites right now!

This was enough.


	5. Chapter 5

Speak nothing of hangovers on wedding days. Originally Steve had been against the idea of having both parties on the same night two days before the wedding, but today, he rejoiced in what a genius his partner was. 

When his eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the room, it was hard to recognise where he was. He had been here before a handful of times, but bleary eyed with no memory of his arrival, he was drawing a blank. 

A distant scent of oil and grease wafted towards him, making his stomach lurch. Moving to grab the bin that had been set up beside him was a mistake though. The moment he moved, a landmine exploded in his skull, and he groaned hard. He collapsed back onto the bed, buried his head into the covers to block out the light, and settled in to wait for death. 

Steve couldn't even remember most of the drinking. The laughter echoed in his mind clearly, but he had been far to engrossed in conversation to register the drinks he was kicking back. All he knew was that he wasn't getting married today, and he was grateful for that. Although thinking of Danny made him instinctively reach to the other side of the bed, to latch a hold of whatever part of him was closest. His arm swiped across the covers, searching for the warmth that should have been laying beside him. When he finally turned his head and saw it empty, he finally remembered where he was.

He had no idea how he had gotten here, but this was Jerry's guest room. It had to be. 

Logic - and love - told him to text Danny and let him know that he had survived the night, but the idea of looking at a small screen with bright lights inches from his face made his stomach lurch again and he couldn't bare it. 

Steve hadn't thrown up since the radiation poisoning got to him years ago. It didn't exactly bring fond memories with it.

"Knock knock."

Jerry tapped the door gently and kept his voice low but it still boomed through Steve's head like a thunderbolt. Maybe if he stayed really still he'd think he was asleep and leave him alone.

Jerry did not.

He crept into the room, and his soft tone filled with concern. "Commander? You awake? Steve? Oh please don’t be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be-"

Steve felt Jerry's hand wriggling towards his neck in order to check his pulse. He groaned indignantly. 

"Get off me!"

"Oh thank God!" Jerry sighed with relief.

He was fairly certain - actually no, he was a hundred percent certain, that if Steve had died of alcohol poisoning while in Jerry's care before the wedding Danny would kill him too. He'd been a cop long enough to get away with it. 

"Is it a case?" Steve asked into his duvets.

Jerry tilted his head. "Is what a case?"

"Are you waking me up for a case?"

"No, I just-"

"If no one's dead, I don't care."

"I was just checking you weren't dead. It's almost nine, and I know you usually get up at six-"

Steve lifted his head in surprise, which was a mistake. "It's almost nine?"

"Uh huh. If you don't mind Steve, I took the liberty of picking up a change of clothes for you, because, well, uh, it kind of smells like my mom's basement in here, so... yeah."

That was a nice way to say that another reason Jerry wanted to check if Steve was still alive was because it smelt like a crime scene. Between him and Eric there was enough alcohol fumes in the house to make Jerry concerned about lighting the stove. He had anyway. He was hungry. Besides, buffet breakfasts were what he was best at.

"Shower's through there, clothes are on that chair, breakfast'll be ready in about five minutes. That's long enough for a navy shower right?" Jerry asked.

"You know navy showers?" Steve asked.

"Sure, I lived with you for long enough," Jerry chuckled. 

The grand total of time Jerry had lived with Steve was about three and a half weeks. Even so he had a way of amassing information on the people he loved, and filing it away in his head. Conspiracies filled the cabinets around him, but random throw away facts about his friends just rolled off his tongue. It made it easier to quietly perform little acts of affection, like picking up Steve's favourite blue shirt to change into without being asked.

Had Steve's head not been throbbing, he would have appreciated that a little more.

Clean and in fresh clothes, Steve followed the trail of pancakes like Eddie tracking a perp. His stomach was battling between the urge to empty itself fully, and to refill the part of it that already had. When he took his seat opposite Eric, he couldn't help his reluctance. The table between them was cluttered with food. Bacon, pancakes, croissants, a fresh fruit salad, toast - there was only three of them there to eat it. Steve looked up to Eric.

Eric had dropped his head back down on the table in front of him like a kid in the back row of maths class just trying to take a nap. Any other, less sympathetic, day Steve would have deliberately dropped a cup to clatter loudly and wake him up. Today he settled for poking him with the crust of his slice of toast.

"Hey, you, did you make sure Danny got home safe?" 

Eric groaned and wrapped his arms closer around his head to avoid having to talk to him.

"Danny's plenty safe, I took him home," Jerry said. 

Steve yawned and nodded. "Mahalo."

"Yeah, I don't think Uncle Dan'll say that," Eric said.

"Why? What'd you do? You didn’t buy him a stripper did you, come on Eric! You’re better than that!" Steve groaned.

"Actually Steve, I was in charge of Danny's night," Jerry said.

"Ah, so there weren't any strippers," Steve smiled quietly. 

"A crying shame," Eric complained. 

"Did he have fun?" Steve asked.

"I think so, don’t you Eric?" Jerry asked.

Eric snorted at the clearest memories of the night. Steve frowned.

"What happened?"

"You're not supposed to ask that. What happens on the stag-"

"Eric."

"Nothing happened. We just tricked him into having fun the only way we thought he'd actually enjoy," he shrugged.

"How's that?" Steve asked.

"Uncle D is only happy when he's complaining, right?"

"Right?"

"So we gave him a basic tour of places on the island that could link back to Jersey, and waited until he got annoyed enough to take over. He got to complain and he got to tell stories about home and the kids and whatever."

"So you just let him talk endlessly?"

"That's the only thing that makes him happy."

Steve couldn't have argued if he tried. In the entire time he had known Danny, the only times he was quiet were when something was wrong.

...

_"What?"_

_"I didn’t say anything."_

_"Exactly. You never know when to shut up so if you don't say anything there’s something you’re not saying. What is it?"_

_"... Nothing important."_

_"Danno."_

_"I just... I feel bad."_

_Steve glanced away from the road to frown at Danny. Danny didn’t look his way, but he had this expression across his face that Steve still couldn't put his finger on. He saw it a lot from Danny. Mostly when he was thinking about the innocent kids who's lives had been torn apart by whatever case they were currently working on. It was sympathetic and frustrated, because he felt unable to help and he hated that._

_But they had just left Joe alone in quarantine. It was Joe's choice to sacrifice his safety to save Steve, even if it meant being locked up like that. At least he wouldn't be able to contact anyone without Steve knowing now. There was no plan he could make to betray them that Steve wouldn't know about. It was the only thing that reassured him that Joe was telling the truth. And he hadn't asked Danny to tag along. In fact he was going to ask Adam, but once he mentioned his plan to Danny, he automatically signed on to help._

_Maybe now he was regretting that choice._

_"You feel bad? What, you think we should trust him?" Steve scoffed._

_He couldn't trust Joe as far as he could throw him. He couldn't even trust that Joe was lying to him, because he always mixed lies with truths till they become inseparable._

_"No, not in a million years, but it's not him I feel bad for it's you."_

_Danny had this uncanny ability to take Steve by surprise in the simplest of ways. This time it almost caused Steve to jerk the wheel into oncoming traffic before he quickly regain control of himself._

_"Me? Why- why me?" He asked._

_The demand usually would have felt sarcastic or defensive, but something in it just sounded desperate. Danny shrugged._

_"It just sucks that you don’t have someone that you can trust implicitly. I mean my mom's crazy, she can't keep a secret to save her life, but at least I know everything she does she does with the best of intentions y’know? Joe - Joe does things for reasons no one will ever know and you'll never know if he's lying when he does," Danny said._

_There was a tone to his voice. Some low lining personal scorn to it. Danny tried to never give Steve any reason to think he disliked Joe - not beyond the amount he disliked Steve anyway - but he did. Deep down he was always slightly begrudging in his aid when it came to Joe. He still helped, but it was mostly because of his loyalty to Steve, which was extended to him. After all Danny had watched him put his partner through, the personal disdain had just grown._

_However Danny was not as subtle as he thought he was, and Steve knew everything._

_"I understand where you’re coming from, but the guys like a father to me, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt," Steve said calmly._

_"Benefit of the doubt?" Danny repeated._

_Steve shrugged, "That’s what I said. I mean, he did contaminate himself to save me."_

_"I know, and I appreciate that, but that's not really anything in the grand scheme of things. I mean, I risked contamination to save you too and I still didn't lie to you to stop you asking about your mom like Joe asked. I think every kid deserves to know their parents, even if that parent is a disappointment, at least it's the kids choice to know."_

_Danny had just been talking out loud and hadn't fully registered what secrets he had let slip. Steve latched onto it instantly though. He felt his hands clam up and his chest tighten at the implication. Despite the way it choked him, Steve tried to keep his voice calm._

_"When did Joe ask you to lie to me?"_

_Danny's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat._

_"Huh? Oh, um, he- he didn’t, I'm getting confused between him and uh, him and someone else-"_

_"Danny. Don't lie to me," Steve said firmly._

_"I didn't, that's what I was saying," Danny insisted._

_Steve turned his head to finally catch his gaze, "Joe asked you to tell me a lie to keep me from Doris?"_

_"He uh, he might have asked... yeah..."_

_Danny's shoulders sagged as he felt a cold swathe of guilt cross his shoulders. Steve looked so broken already, and now he looked even worse. As utterly disappointed as he was, the worst part of it was that he didn't even seem surprised. Steve looked back out of the windscreen again._

_"And did you do it?"_

_"No. No, never!" Danny frowned furiously and twisted in his seat to argue, "How could you ask me that Steve, after everything we've been through - when have I ever lied to you-"_

_"Alright, alright, alright, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Steve insisted to shut him off. When Danny calmed down, Steve let out a sigh. "I know you wouldn’t, I'm sorry..."_

_"Thank you," Danny muttered._

_There wasn’t any satisfaction from winning the argument, but it was a relief to know that Steve still trusted him. From Steve's perspective, he was just so utterly relieved that he could still trust Danny. He was the only one left that hadn’t lied to him to protect Doris._

_Beyond that, he was the only one who also took it upon himself to snipe at her for leaving in the first place. She had hated that, but Steve hadn't. Knowing Danny had his back against even his own mother without being asked had been soothing._

_And here he was today, backing him up against Joe, once again without being asked._

_Steve felt a rush of gratitude for whatever mistakes of the universe that lead him to Danny._

_"Thanks for coming today too," he said, quietly._

_"You’re welcome," Danny muttered back._

_He was still sulking at the idea that Steve could ever distrust him, even for a micro second._

_"It's just... after everything he's done for me, everything we've been through... I guess I just want to believe he has some loyalty to me that goes beyond Doris, y’know?" Steve confessed with a sigh._

_"For what it's worth, I hope he does too. You deserve someone who's open with you about everything," Danny said._

_"Between Doris and the military they’re pretty hard to find. Even Cath lied for her."_

_Danny winced at the memory. To say Steve was hurt to discover Catherine had been lying to him to defend his mother of all people was an understatement. He was devastated by it. Of course he had understood what caused her to do so - she was under direct orders not to tell him anything - but it just opened the floodgates for more lies and put an air of distrust into their relationship. No matter how hard he tried, or how much he wanted to, he couldn't move past it._

_Danny knew how much it still hurt to talk about it, so he just nodded quietly._

_"Yeah... I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to bring this up-" he began._

_"Hey, no, it's okay. I asked right?" Steve said._

_He gave Danny a weak smile that in no way reassured him._

_"Still, I didn't mean anything by it. Let's change the subject," he said._

_Steve perked up at the idea. "Sure. To what?"_

_"Um... Gracie's final cheer rehearsal is on Friday. It's the last open rehearsal before nationals. She asked me to ask you to come," Danny said._

_Steve grinned, "Really? She wants me there?"_

_Danny opened his mouth as he considered how to answer. Grace hadn't specifically asked for him by name, but she had made it clear that she expected him to be there. It had become an expectation by this point that if something important was going to happen, Steve would be there too. That, or he was covering Danny's shift to ensure he could be there. Either way someone was going to be cheering in the stands._

_"You don’t have to if you don’t wanna, it's just a bunch of kids jumping and yelling-" Danny began._

_"No, no, I wanna come. I'll be there, I'll make sure of it," Steve said firmly._

_Danny smiled. "Alright, I'll let her know."_

_It was always better if Steve could come too. Danny cheering loudly from the side-lines was embarrassing, but both of them cheering from the side-lines felt like the start of a fan base. Still embarrassing, sure, but less so. Sometimes they roped in Rachel and Charlie too, and that began to edge towards funny rather than humiliating. In short, Grace tried harder when she had more people to show off to._

_"Hey, can I ask you something?" Steve asked curiously._

_"You just did," Danny smirked._

_Steve scoffed, but there was a smile in his tone, "Something else."_

_"What?"_

_"Well, I was a star quarterback right, and I was friends with loads of cheerleaders- good friends with some of them._ Good friends _..."_

_A wistful smirk crossed his lips as he thought back to high school. Danny glared at him, mistaking the flare of jealousy in his stomach for impatience._

_"I don't particularly want to know about your teenage sex life Steve, is there a question in this?" He asked sharply._

_"Yes, yes there is," Steve assured him. "Even though I was friends with these cheerleaders, I only ever paid attention to their cheers at games. I never even bothered to ask before."_

_Danny blinked as he waited for the question that Steve seemed to have forgotten. "Ask what?"_

_"What are nationals?" He asked_

_"What are nationals?" Danny repeated._

_"Yeah, what happens there, what are they?"_

_"A pain in the ass."_

_Steve laughed along with him as the mood in the car began to lift again. Danny rambled on about the problems with nationals, but never quite answered the question. It was okay though, because Steve asked Grace instead. As long as Danny was rambling, things felt more normal._

...

"Ey, yo, McGarrett? You still with us dude?" 

Eric wafted a piece of pancake in front of his face to try and bring him out of his daydream. Steve shoved his arm aside as he did. 

"He lives!" Eric laughed as he sat back down in his chair.

He seemed to have gotten over his hangover fast. Steve rolled his eyes, and he heard the echo of the moment in his skull. Jerry had set a cup of coffee in front of him. Steve deeply appreciated Jerry's hosting skills. He seemed to anticipate desires. 

"I was asking if you got cold feet yet," Eric said.

Steve almost choked on his coffee. "Cold feet? Seriously?"

"Nothing wrong with it y'know. Marriage is a serious thing, we all know the divorce statistics-" Eric began. 

Steve shook a hand in the air to stop him.

"Do not! I didn't need to know the statistics of failing restaurants, I don't need to know the statistics of failing marriages," he said drily.

"Don't worry commander, I have every faith that this marriage will last till death do you part," Jerry said.

"Thanks Jerry," Steve smiled.

"I do too," Eric said.

" _You_ do?" Steve repeated accusingly. 

"For sure. You're way too stubborn to file for a divorce no matter how much he annoys you, and Uncle D would never give you the satisfaction," Eric joked.

Steve hated how accurate that sounded to him. That the simplicity of their lasting marriage may come down to spite. That was enough with his hangover to give him doubts. They hadn't managed to make it work in the restaurant. It was a small step from managing a restaurant to running a family. If they couldn’t do that, how would this be any easier? It hadn't worked for Danny before because Danny hadn't even tried to go to therapy to fix it. What else wouldn't he be willing to compromise on?

Steve didn't want to find himself ten years down the line stuck in a marriage out of spite for the other person in it.

His stomach felt queasy again.

"Oh, before I forget- here. Either you dropped this or I forgot to give it to you the other day, but I found this in the hall."

Jerry placed a photograph on the table by Steve's plate. The photo had fallen out of his pocket as he staggered in last night. Looking down at the old, forgotten memory in that hospital room, Steve's stomach eased. Even back then the two of them had silently and instinctively managed to settle both kids at the same time. To manage the family together, even before they knew they were doing so.   
Of course he wouldn't end up in a spiteful relationship. He couldn't. Because ten years ago he had chosen Danny to be his partner and they had been choosing each other at every opportunity since.

"You didn't forget. Mahalo Jerry."

Jerry settled in his seat and flashed Steve a smile despite his mouthful of fruit salad. 

"What do you think Danny's up to right now?" He asked.

"Grandma said she'd take Charlie back to the house early so he could practice carrying the rings," Eric said.

"He needs to practice that?" Jerry sounded surprise. 

Charlie was nearly ten after all. He had been walking and carrying things for years now, Jerry wasn't entirely sure what would make this any different.

"He keeps forgetting to hold the cushion right. He gets bored and starts twirling it. Grandma says he needs to practice with the actual rings so he realises how easy it is to lose them," Eric explained. 

"You make it sound like she plans to lose them," Jerry chuckled.

Eric swallowed his bacon as innocently as possible. "Do I?"

At one of Vito's various weddings - one of the earliest ones, when it was still a big deal - Eric was young and sweet and innocent. The perfect candidate for ring bearer. Clara helped him to learn to remember how important it was to know where the rings were at all times in a simple way. By causing him to have a small panic induced freak out.

While he was practicing the walk, she had impressed on him how important these rings were and how if they were lost then the whole ceremony would be ruined. Then, when he inevitably stopped paying attention, she stole one away and hid it in her pocket.  
Clara was a being of love and support at all times, but sometimes she acted with tough love, and that always made an impact.

"With the hangover he'll have right now, I do not envy him," Jerry chuckled.

"Especially not when Grandma makes her special hangover removal smoothie!" Eric agreed.

Even just the smell of the slurry in the blender Clara was pouring out made Grace's stomach flip as she remembered the last time she had smelt it. The distant memory of the drunken haze was gone, but she could remember the hangover. Or, more critically, the warning from Steve that next time he caught her like that he wouldn’t be so forgiving.

"Be a diamond and take this to Danny will you honey? Make sure he drinks all of it," Clara said. 

"Do I have to?" Grace wrinkled her nose.

Clara's eyes sparkled as she recognised the look.

"That feeling in your stomach right now, that's regret. Danny has the recipe for this too, so next time you wake up hung over, don't think you'll get away with it just because I'm not around."

"Honestly Grandma, Steveo already beat you to it. I can't even drink without thinking about him yelling at me," Grace admitted. 

"That's good parenting," Clara chuckled.

Grace didn't look convinced. "Is it?"

"If it stops you getting into trouble then yes!" Clara said, firmly. 

Grace wanted to point out that she was perfectly capable of getting herself into trouble sober, but she decided not to. Since Eric's photography business had started to take off they were starting to compare her to him, and it was far too easy to slip up and get both of them into trouble.

"What do I do if he doesn't drink it all?" Grace asked.

"Tell me," Clara said firmly.

There was something in her tone that Grace recognised in her own mothers. An underlining threat that it was hard not to feel unsettled by. Mother's didn't need to be specific from their threats, their tone supplied all the fear they needed. Grace didn't want to invoke the anger of an additional generation's worth of parenting so she took the glass and headed to the bedroom.

Even if Grace had knocked on the door it wouldn't have mattered. Danny was dead to the world. She had to shake him with both hands to wake him up. The moment that consciousness hit him was the same moment a white hot blade pierced through his skull. 

"Oh no..."

Even his own agonized groan echoed like a bullhorn back to him.

"Grandma says drink this or else."

The fact that someone else was in the room hadn’t even registered with him until he rolled his head to see the grisly concoction on his bedside table. It was settled beside an old framed photo of Grace holding new-born Charlie. Such innocence beside such vulgarity. 

Still he had years of experience of his mother's care while he was sick. When she said "or else" it was a warning that something worse could come. He had tested those waters enough to know it would too. So he reached out for the glass. 

As begrudging as Danny always was to admit it, his mothers hangover cure always seemed to work. Especially when taken with aspirin. It may have been the aspirin that worked but the placebo of the smoothie definitely enhanced things. Given the searing agony racing through him, it wasn't worth fighting. 

Grace took a step back as Danny heaved himself into sitting and reached across for the glass. His hand was shaking as he took it. The smell alone twisted his stomach. He pinched his nose and knocked it back. Grace's face twisted in empathic disgust as she watched. He mirrored her disgusted expression as he set aside the empty glass.

"Better?" She asked, tentatively. 

Danny just groaned. He was too tired and his muscles were too heavy to do anything more than collapse back into the bed.

"Right well... um, Charlie needs to practice walking with the rings, so do you know where they are?" Grace asked. 

"We outsourced that to Vito, remember?" Danny groaned. 

"He hasn't delivered them yet?" Grace frowned.

Danny didn’t respond. He hadn't seen or heard from Vito in a couple of days now, but with everything else going on he hadn't thought about it. 

"He was due to do that yesterday, before the parties, did he call?" Grace asked.

"Does Vito ever call?" Danny sighed.

"I'll deal with this. Charlie can practice with this-" 

Grace grabbed Danny's hand and twisted his engagement ring free from his finger, despite his protests.

"Hey, don’t lose that! That was Steve's father's ring, it's very important!" Danny insisted. 

"Don’t worry, Charlie's practicing making sure he doesn’t lose rings. What could possibly go wrong?" Grace sniggered.

She too had old and distant memories of Clara performing less than kind tricks to force her to learn a lesson or two. She was fairly sure that Charlie was about to learn a similar lesson. 

"Do not lose that ring Grace," Danny warned sternly. 

"I won't, I promise," she said.

She spun on her heels to move away.

"Grace."

She stopped. She swore inwardly. She turned back.

"Yes Danno?"

Danny beckoned her closer. reluctantly she took a big step to return to her original position. Danny raised a hand, and drew a cross in the air in front of her chest, directly across her heart. Her stomach sank. 

It was a childish action. One she had learned from her cousin, Sophia. The idea was that crossing someone's heart for them after they make a promise held them accountable. It worked. She hated it, but it worked. She rolled the ring between her fingers, watching the way it shone in the low light of the bedroom.

This was precious. She would defend it to the death. 

Danny settled back into the bed, and allowed her to go. Grace shut the door behind her as quietly as she normally did, because she wasn’t thinking about his hangover anymore, and the throbbing in his skull ached worse than ever. 

Still he felt comfortable sinking into the depths of his bed, knowing that Grace was out there taking care of the wedding. Honestly, she had settled enough arguments for them to this to be her big day too. Although before she came along, they had found another way to settle arguments.

...

_Steve fell back against the mattress panting hard. Danny fell against his chest seconds later, also panting. Steve tucked one arm under his head, and the other around Danny. He smirked at the feeling of Danny's bare shoulders, sticky with sweat._

_"We can't keep settling arguments like this," Danny panted._

_Steve chuckled, "I think it's working."_

_"I was being sarcastic when I suggested it," Danny said dryly._

_"And yet we barely argue over anything now," Steve said._

_Danny sat up, pushing away from Steve as he did. The covers slipped down his chest as he did. Steve's hand lingered against his exposed skin before he allowed it to drop._

_"I'm exhausted Steve. This is more competitive than arguing. We need to stop," Danny said seriously._

_"But you won! The napkins are going to be blue. Don’t you feel all smug inside now?" Steve insisted, grinning as he did._

_Danny rolled his eyes, "They were always going to be blue because blue fits the theme. You only suggested yellow to rise an argument out of me so we'd end up back here!"_

_"And it worked," Steve smirked._

_"Because it's the last time I’m going to let you get away with it," Danny said seriously._

_"Not even if I tell Kamekona he can wear a cummerbund?" Steve asked._

_"Kamekona can wear what he likes as long as the only face in his outfit is the one on his head," Danny said._

_Steve just chuckled. Danny rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for this, he had a wedding to plan. He pulled away from Steve, who instantly protested._

_"Where are you- don’t, don’t get out of bed. That’s a bad idea. My bad idea synapse is firing," Steve insisted._

_He pawed at Danny from the flat of his back as Danny pulled his underwear back on and scoffed at him._

_"Your bad- y’know the last time you said that was when I hired Vito to help us with restaurant-"_

_"And I was right, he wanted to fake an arson case!"_

_"Which is funny because it didn’t fire at all when you decided to jump off the overpass onto the back of a moving truck along the freeway," Danny said, pointedly._

_Danny ended up on his knees looking down at his partners goofy grin again._

_"No, no, see, I use that as a back up after my initial bad idea detector stops whining, and uh, it was firing like a bullhorn when I jumped off that bridge," Steve grinned._

_He sat up again, reaching the for Danny as he did. Danny allowed Steve to slithered his arms around his waist and kiss his way up his stomach again._

_"I feel like I should be insulted, but all you’re saying is that I'm smarter than you, and that,_ that _I agree with," he said._

_Steve had made his way up to Danny's hip. He sat his chin on his hipbone and sighed heavily._

_"How do you want to settle arguments then? Last time we tried flipping a coin you accused me of having a double headed coin," he said._

_"You won three times in a row, it's statistically improbable!" Danny argued again._

_"And yet fate is on my side!" Steve shrugged._

_"Fate, or the heads on each side?" Danny challenged._

_He pushed Steve down and away from him as he chuckled. Steve begrudgingly allowed his hands to slip away from him._

_"You’re just proving my point that we only have one sure fire way of settling arguments, and it's with sex," Steve said._

_Danny opened his mouth to argue, then just rolled his eyes and moved on. He climbed off of the bed, and pulled on his bathrobe, and headed back into the kitchen. Steve found his underwear and followed._

_"Hey, why is there a yellow napkin on the table?!" Grace demanded sharply._

_Steve jumped at the sound of her voice. The initial response to grab for his gun failed, since it wasn't attached to him at the time. He also failed to notice Danny's initial reaction, which was to wrap his gown closer around him._

_"I didn’t hear you come in-" he began._

_"There's no yellow napkins at the wedding. You wanted a peace theme, nothings more peaceful than robin egg blue, so that’s what colour the napkins will be. Besides that way they match the ribbons on the back of the chairs, and they can also be your something blue," Grace interrupted sharply._

_Finding her in the sitting room, holding the yellow napkins accusingly, took both of them by surprise. They were still stuck in the doorway as they shared a look._

_"We could just settle our arguments through Grace?" Steve suggested quietly._

_"No, she's settled way too many arguments we're not putting this on her shoulders-" Danny began, in a low sharp tone._

_Steve ignored him and stepped out from behind him, further into the room. "Hey Gracie, I'm thinking of using dad's old mercury as the wedding car. What'd you think about that?"_

_Grace frowned. "Does it even run?"_

_"Nahele and I can get it to work for the day," Steve said confidently._

_Danny hummed dubiously. Nahele had grown into an excellent mechanic but even he couldn't get that hunk of junk moving. Even if they could get it to work, in Danny's experience, they still would have to push it home._

_"Is it worth paying whatever it costs for parts to fix up an old car that you’re gonna have to tow home when you could spend that some money hiring a car for a few hours? That way you can also drink what you like at the reception without worrying about getting a ticket for overnight parking or drink driving," Grace said._

_"She makes some good points," Danny said._

_"But it's my dads car. I don't have much else of him, it's not like he'll be there to give a speech," Steve implored._

_"That's true. Can you hire a car the same make and model as the mercury?" Grace asked._

_"I mean, I guess I can, but it won't be dad's car," Steve said._

_"Well if sentimentality is going to beat practicality any day it's gotta be your wedding day right?" Grace agreed, "But maybe you should ask someone from HPD to be on standby in case you break down so you can get a police escort and won't be late."_

_Steve's grin grew as he smacked a hand against Danny, "She's a genius- you’re a genius."_

_"And you need to put some clothes on. Honestly Danno, what is it with you and letting your partners wander around almost naked in front of me?" Grace asked._

_Steve had forgotten the particular incident she was referencing, and glared accusingly at Danny. Danny cleared his throat awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck._

_"In my defence, you weren't supposed to be here either time," he said._

_Grace just huffed at him while Steve wandered off in search of pants. Danny hadn't thought about the day Grace accidentally met Melissa in a long, long time. At the time he had been uncomfortable with the entire introduction - not least because he hadn't mentioned Melissa's existence to Grace at any point previous to this - but he thought it had been long forgotten. Clearly he was wrong._

_"I know this," Danny gestured to the air where Steve had been standing, "could be upsetting Grace but remember, I'm marrying that man. He lives here too. It's his home too."_

_Grace looked confused, "So what?"_

_"So he's allowed to wander around his own house without clothes on without you embarrassing him," Danny said firmly._

_Grace did her best not to laugh, even though she really wanted to. "Danno, I'm at university. There's a kid in my class who wears slippers and brings a flask of soup to lectures, and another one who once turned up in nothing but a toga and a shark hat, and those are lectures, say nothing of_ dorms! _This," she mocked the way he waved at the space where Steve had been, "Is nothing."_

_"A shark hat?" Danny repeated._

_"Yeah I traded him a working pen for it. Don't tell Charlie. It's his birthday present," she smiled._

_"So you aren't upset or embarrassed about this?" Danny asked slowly._

_"I'm upset, but it's not about Steveo wandering around in his underwear! It's this!" She waved the yellow napkin at him._

_"We couldn't agree on the napkin colour because we don’t have a referee to settle arguments," Steve explained as he returned, dressed in gym clothes._

_His tank was loose fitting, and his cargo shorts showed off his calves. He flashed Danny a grin and a wink as he instantly recognised the expression on his face. Danny glanced him up and down and arched an eyebrow. He didn’t need to say the words_ wasn't that enough of a workout for you _, for Steve to understand what he was thinking. Steve slung an arm around his shoulders as he so often did these days._

_"I don’t think normal couples need a referee," Grace said._

_"What do you think couples counselling is?" Danny smirked._

_"Don't listen to him, we had counselling to improve our partnership and it worked for us," Steve said._

_"You got us sent to a couples retreat where you abandoned me to go drinking with a girl you met on the plane," Danny countered, bitterly._

_"I asked you to come with me, you said you were injured," Steve argued._

_"_ I was injured! You injured me!"

 _"And we decided that we need to work_ together _to make our communication clearer so you don’t hide your emotions behind interventions again."_

_"Maybe you should hire a wedding planner. Or get help. Isn't that what best men are for?" Grace asked._

_"Uncle Chin isn't on the island," Steve said._

_"What about Auntie Kono?" Grace asked._

_Danny went very quiet as Steve deliberately didn't look in his direction. That was enough for Grace to understand. Danny had a tendency to argue and fire his best men. Their friends had devised a rotation system for dealing with him now._

_"We're back to Uncle Junior being the best man," Steve said._

_"Because that's not confusing," Grace said plainly._

_She had picked up her fathers sarcasm recently and run with it. Usually Steve found it was amusing, but not when it was him on the receiving end._

_"Maybe we should hire her," Steve muttered to him._

_"I'm not hiring my daughter to be my wedding planner while she's supposed to be doing college work," Danny hissed back._

_"Then I guess we need to work on our compromises," Steve shrugged._

_"We need to work on our- I don’t need to work on anything, you’re the one who always needs to be in control," Danny hissed._

_"I don’t always need to-"_

_"You drive_ my _car,_ you _choose what we have for dinner even if you say I can-"_

_"Okay, alright, that was one time-"_

_"We watch whatever movie you wanna watch before bed-"_

_"DADS! ENOUGH!"_

_Hearing Grace yell stole the arguments out of Steve. Once all the argument was out of Steve there was nothing for Danny to fight against. They both fell quiet, but while Danny’s eyes fell to the floor, Steve stared at Grace._

_"You too are driving me crazy, how did you ever think you were going to open that restaurant? How does Uncle Lou live with this every day?!" She demanded._

_"Not well," Danny admitted._

_"The theme_ you _picked is supposed to be peace and you can't even manage that in your planning. You need a find a way to agree, or find someone to decide between your arguments for you because this can't go on. Personally I usually ask Eddie, because he's very impartial. If you can't settle your arguments, then pick a new theme, because this- this is not peaceful!"_

_Danny agreed. It was hard not to. But the foundations of their entire relationship was balanced on bickering and fighting crime, as well as each other. From day one, from word one, was arguments. Sure, now they were searching for peace away from the bullets and the terrorists and the buildings falling on their heads and the kidnappings and everything else - but that was what they did._

_Peace was a dream to them._

_"I just came for my charger. I’m taking this with me. I'll see you later. Try not to kill each other before the wedding," she said._

_Grace swiped both her charger and the yellow napkins. She stuffed them into her bag and stopped to kiss both of their cheeks in turn, before heading to the door. All the while Steve's eyes never left her._

_"That's uh... that's a lot to think about huh?" Danny sighed. He glanced over at Steve when he didn’t react. He was still staring at the door Grace had shut behind her. He was clearly floored. "What’s the matter with you?"_

_Steve blinked but he didn't move beyond muttering,_

_"Grace called us dads..."_

_"So? That's what we are," Danny said._

_"She's never called me dad," Steve muttered._

_"She only calls me dad when she's angry," Danny shrugged. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, chances are she won't do it again until she's mad at you too."_

_Steve wasn't listening. In a breathless whisper he said to himself, "I'm gonna be a dad..."_

_This was something that really should have dawned on him earlier, but only now when the word was actually used had it hit him. He wasn't just Steveo, as affectionate as the name was, he was going to have an official title in the kids life. He was going to be a dad._

_The responsibility of that struck him like a rock. It had hit him and burst the bubble of joy he'd been floating in for months._

_Everything suddenly felt a lot more real._

_"Did you say something?" Danny asked as he reappeared._

_"I said..." Steve paused._

_Danny was grounded. He always had been. He had been fully aware of the implications of marrying Steve from the moment he decided to propose. Steve had been too, which was why he asked both kids for their permission before proposing, and yet the full weight of that was only bearing down on him now. It was a weight he could and wanted to bear, but it was going to take him a minute to adjust._

_Had he said any of that to Danny though it would only have worried him. Steve flashed him the best smile he could find._

_"I said I'd trust Eddie's opinions."_

_Danny raised his eyebrows as he folded his arms across his chest. "You want us to put our wedding day in the paws of a dog? He's military, he'll side with you!"_

_"Danny he’s a dog. He’s got no opinions," Steve argued, "it'll be like that Octopus that predicated who would win the world cup-"_

_"Stop, stop because I have no idea what you're talking about, but we're out of other options, so fine," Danny declared. "If there's something we really can't agree on, Eddie gets the final decision!"_

_At the sound of his name, the dog raised his chin from his paws and looked up at them. Both of his masters were looking back, which could only mean exciting things, and his tail started to swish automatically. Steve's radiating grin was genuine as he turned back to Danny._

_"Great, I feel good about this," he said, genuinely._

_"That makes one of us," Danny muttered._

_"I'm serious. I know it's tough to plan this, but it's all gonna be fine on the day. I have faith in us, and I'm really looking forward to it," Steve said._

_Danny glanced Steve up and down as he felt his partners hands move along his hips to tug him closer. There was a warm glow in his gaze that had been steadily growing since the first day they finally kissed. It was this love stuck awe of affection that had always been there in flashes and forgotten moments. Danny could kick himself for not realising what those quiet lingering moments were hiding all that time ago. Now though, it was pure and obvious and in plain sight._

_And it was earnest. Steve couldn't wait to be married and show off that he was in love with someone who loved him back more than anything else this time. To which there could only be one answer._

_Danny gave him a soft smile as he cupped Steve's cheek affectionately and ran a thumb alone his weathered jaw line._

_"Putz."_

...

Kamekona pointed Chin in the right direction when he turned up to collect the wedding rings. He had never met Danny's uncle before, but he recognised him quickly. If you asked him to describe a stereotypical New Jersey native to you, that was who he would describe. 

"What uh, what you drinking?" Chin asked.

Vito adjusted his position on his stool to eye Chin again. He lifted his empty glass and rolled it thoughtfully in his hand.

"I'm not one to turn down a free drink," he began, slowly, "but I am one to turn down a guy."

"Whoa, no, no, I'm not-"

"Hey, look, I'm flattered, you're a good looking guy-"

"I'm straight. I'm also married. I was just offering you another drink."

Vito raised his chin suspiciously again. "That so huh? I'll take it, but uh... what's the catch?"

"I'm Chin. You asked to meet me?" He held out a hand for him to shake.

"Right - right! Chin Ho Kelly!" Vito lit up as he latched onto Chin's hand and shook it happily, "Great to finally meet you, I'm Vito. I hear you're the best man."

"I'm a best man. I don't know who else is at the moment, but everyone’s got a speech prepared just in case," Chin said.

"Yeah, Danny's a good kid but he knows what he likes and damn everyone who tries to get him to see sense," Vito said.

"I think I know what you mean," Chin agreed.

It wasn't very often that Danny took control of things, but Chin still had clear and frustrating memories of hauling all of Danny's stuff into a brand new apartment, just to have to haul it downstairs again. Mattress included. There was no changing his mind once it was made up.

"Well, here are the rings. I got 'em wholesale, don't ask me how," Vito warned.

He casually slid a pair of rings across the bar like he was making a questionable deal. Chin didn't bother being subtle.

"Believe me, I don’t wanna know," Chin said.

He took a moment to examine both rings in turn. They were inverted versions of one another. One was made of two pieces of titanium with a slither of yellow gold riveted in between them, which left small golden circles along the edge of the silver bands. The other had two pieces of yellow gold and a slither of silver titanium riveted between them to leave the same silver circles, mirroring the first ring.

"Keep em safe. This wedding needs to go off without a hitch or we'll never hear the end of it," Vito warned.

"I'll make sure they’re in my pocket at all times," Chin assured him.

He tucked them into the inside pocket of his jacket now to keep them safe. Chin still had clear memories of Kono's wedding day. After all the drama of their urgent case, he had very nearly forgotten the rings in his car. That simple mistake gave Gabriel a chance to threaten his life again. 

Vito knew nothing of this. He patted Chin's shoulder approvingly. "Good boy. You having a drink?"

"No, my cousin's got plans for some big dinner. I think she's got something to tell me," Chin smiled.

"Ah the wedding romance is in the air. Be careful, they’re like dominoes. Once one goes- poof!" Vito said.

Chin smiled but he was clearly just amusing him. "I'll bear it in mind."

"Be sure you do. And if you need anything at the wedding or whenever, just gimme a call, I'll be there whatever," Vito said.

"I'll bear that in mind too," Chin nodded 

"In that case, arrivederci," Vito said. He picked up his glass again, and nodded his head towards the door, "Beat it."

Chin chuckled as he slid off the stool and made his way to the exit. He glanced back for one last look, and found his place had been taken by an attractive young lady. Chin snorted. He had heard a lot about Vito, and he seemed to live up to the hype. He found himself wondering what he would have in store for tomorrow.

Late in the afternoon Grace drove Clara to her hotel and they wandered into the garden. Eddie perched in the boat, as he often did now, and watched Charlie as he built sandcastles at the edge of the beach, and Danny lazily fought the urge to doze in his hammock. He lost the fight. 

Which is probably why he found himself laying awake alone in his bed at almost one in the morning.   
Danny's head turned towards the empty side of the bed as he ran a hand across the covers. He often liked to tease Steve for being needy, but at times like this he felt like the needy one. Without Steve there to curl an arm around him like he was just checking he was still there, Danny found it harder to get to sleep. In the insomnia, his mind took over.

Rachel never made the bed feel so cold. Whether she was there or not he could usually get himself to sleep. She didn't leave him laying awake and worrying like Steve did. Their wedding had been easier to plan. He didn't argue nearly as much with her. It was easier to pick a best man too. Matt was the obvious choice for best man. If he was here, Danny would pick him again. But he wasn't. No one else felt right. 

If he couldn't even pick a best man how could he expect anything to go right tomorrow? And if nothing went right at the wedding, what would that mean for the marriage? They were old men now. There wasn't time to split up, move on and find someone new. Especially not moving on. It took Danny years and a son to get over Rachel, and he loved Steve far deeper than he had ever loved her.

If everything went wrong, how could he ever get past it?

The door creaked open, cutting through his thoughts. 

"Danno?" Charlie whispered.

Danny lifted his head. Charlie hovered in the doorway. He could barely be seen beyond the light reflecting off of his pyjamas.

"Hey buddy. What are you doing up? It's really late and it's a big day tomorrow," Danny said.

"I can't sleep."

"You too exited?"

"No..."

Danny frowned. Charlie hung his head as he lingered by the door. Danny lifted an arm to beckon him over.

"Come on up, let's talk about it."

Charlie climbed up onto the bed, and climbed over Danny to roll down into the empty spot on the mattress. Danny gathered him in close as the two of them laid back on the mattress together. 

"What’s going on huh? Why cant you sleep?" He asked gently.

Charlie shrugged. Quietly he muttered, "It feels weird."

"It does huh?" Danny asked. He didn't want to admit that he understood what the kid meant. "What does?"

Again Charlie shrugged. Danny waited silently until Charlie sighed. "I love Steveo, I want him to be part of the family, but now that it's happening it feels weird."

"Weird how?" Danny repeated. 

"It's used to be just you and me and Grace. Now that Steveo is part of this too, is that gonna change?"

"What, our family?"

He rolled his head against his pillow to look down at Charlie. Charlie wouldn't meet his eye as he nodded. 

"Well, yeah buddy, it is, but y’know that's not a bad thing. It's getting bigger because there’s more people to love who love you back," Danny assured him. 

Charlie's fingers wrapped carefully around the covers as he hesitantly asked, "So you won't have another baby with Steveo? Steveo won't love that baby more than me?"

"What?! Love someone more than you?! That's impossible," Danny laughed breezily. 

"Not even a baby?" Charlie asked.

"No bud," Danny chuckled. "Me and Steveo aren't gonna have another baby, and even if we did, that wouldn't change how much we love you, okay? We didn't stop loving Grace when we had you did we?"

"Steveo didn't have Grace, you and mom did," Charlie pointed out.

Danny rolled his head to shake it, "Doesn't matter. Steveo loves you just the same."

"You promise?" Charlie asked quietly.

Danny nodded, squeezing him tighter as he did. "I promise."

Charlie settled against him quietly. He laid on his back, using Danny's arm as a pillow, and stared up at the ceiling. 

"I wish Steveo was here," he whispered. 

"Y’know what? I do too. Look at this big empty bed, it needs someone to fill it," Danny agreed. He rolled his head to look at Charlie. His blue eyes shone in the limited light, "Will you try? So I don’t get lonely?"

"Okay Danno," Charlie yawned. 

"Awesome, I love you buddy."

"Love you too Danno."

Danny felt Charlie grow limp as he slowly dozed off to sleep, but he couldn’t manage it himself. It felt like time was swirling around him instead of moving by. Only an hour or so later, Grace knocked gently on the door.

"Hey Danno?"

Danny raised his head, careful not to disturb Charlie, even though his arm was going numb. Grace fumbled sheepishly with the door handle as Eddie waited by her feet. Something must have been in the air, he thought. Something heavy and invisible that hovered over them to stop them sleeping. He beckoned her over too.

"Get in."

Grace didn’t have to be asked twice. She felt like a toddler climbing into her dad's bed again, but it didn't matter tonight. He shuffled up and she settled in beside him. Grace yawned as she laid her head on the pillow beside him. In the doorway, Eddie whined. 

"You too."

Danny said it with a laugh, but that was all the permission Eddie needed. Steve drew the line at Eddie sleeping in the bed with them, so this was a special moment for him. He settled down across the end of the bed, as close to them as he could get.  
Even with his kids snuggled in beside him and the dog curled up by his knees, Danny couldn't avoid the feeling that there was still someone missing. With everyone gathered together on the bed, he had very little space to himself. There was little choice but to try and sleep, even if it wouldn't come to him. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.

Danny's eyes were blurry in the new morning light. The bed was empty but it was no surprise. Steve was always awake before him, ready to take the dog for a walk. What was unusual was the lack of coffee in the air. Steve tended to put on a pot after he got home. Danny figured he probably hadn't made it back yet.  
He dragged himself out of bed, and staggered towards the shower. With the lack of sleep he had gotten, his mind was as foggy as the bathroom with all this steam. Danny had just reached up to start with the shampoo when he suddenly clicked back into gear and remembered what day it was. The realisation hit him like an anvil. That made his heart freeze up.

"Holy shit... I'm getting married..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a pretty long chapter in a pretty long series. I don't wanna tell you how to live your life but it might be good if you took a break now for a bit maybe. 
> 
> Maybe get some sleep? A drink perhaps?
> 
> Or at least stretch out. There's a lot of tension in your muscles, you'd feel better if you stretched. 
> 
> Or not, I mean, it's your life. You do you.


	6. Chapter 6

Eric sipped his coffee casually as he flicked through to the cartoon channels. In front of him, his feet rose and fell with his foot rest. Steve had no problem doing pushups while Eric was resting his feet across his back. They impacted him in no way. Chin and Jerry watched, concerned. 

"Are you sure you don't want anything for breakfast Steve? I have english muffins," Jerry said.

"No thank you," Steve grunted.

"You're gonna be hungry later."

"No."

"You feeling nervous Steve?" Chin asked.

"No. Why would you even ask that?" Steve grunted between muttering counts of each rep.

"Because you've been awake long enough to for me to wake up, make coffee, decide not to get dressed yet and come to watch cartoons, and you're still doing your morning exercises," Eric suggested.

"It's totally normal to have cold feet-" Jerry began.

"I do not have cold feet," Steve said sharply.

"Hey, I got married twice, and both times-" Chin began.

"I have no doubts about marrying Danny." Steve said firmly.

He huffed a little air from his nose as he planked. The tension in him was tighter than he like to admit. Chin and Jerry shared a look. Eric poked him with his toe.

"Then, what's eating you?" He asked.

Steve's planking shifted but didn't fall as he swatted Eric's toes away.

"It's not Danny. It's standing up in front of everyone and declaring my undying love I have a problem with," Steve admitted.

"You do? Why? That's the best bit, you get to show the whole world that you've found someone to love forever, I'd kill for that," Jerry said.

"Many have," Chin agreed.

"Come on guys, when have you ever seen super SEAL here vulnerable?" Eric scoffed.

"I was here when Catherine left. Both times," Chin pointed out.

Steve hissed sharply. "Let's not talk about her today. She's not coming to the wedding, she's not a part of my life anymore, I don't want to think about a failed relationship where someone chose a job over me."

"You would have done the same thing," Chin said.

"Of course I would, but that doesn't stop it hurting," Steve said.

He went back to counting his pushups as Eric swapped his coffee for the bowl of cereal. Jerry and Chin shared a look. Silently they agreed he was not going to be much help today. Chin knelt down on the floor so his was at the same level as Steve. 

"Steve?"

"Yeah Chin?"

"It's time to hit the showers man. You're gonna want to smell good for Danny."

Steve paused, midplank, and looked up at Chin. Chin gave him a look he couldn't argue against. Both of them knew that if Steve turned up in nothing but shorts and flip flops Danny wouldn't be pleased but he'd get over it. If he turned up smelling like a gym sock, they'd never hear the end of it. Ever. The whole day would be cancelled.

Steve sighed, and pushed himself to his feet. He had no problem pulling his shirt off in front of them all as he headed down the hallway to the bathroom. 

"Try and relax too. Give yourself a whole five minutes to soak!" Eric called after him.

There was no response from the man as he closed the bathroom door behind him. Chin let out a low whistle.

"I did not expect _McGarrett_ to get cold feet," Jerry said.

"No. Not even Kamekona predicted that," Chin said. 

"Someone should call him and let him know," Eric suggested.

"I think getting Steve over this bump is more important than Kamekona's wedding bingo," Chin said.

"I'm gonna text him anyway," Eric shrugged.

Chin looked down at him, amazed. "This is why you're not the best man Eric, you know that right?"

"Ah, forget it, I'm leaving soon anyway. Grandma wants photos of Danny getting ready for the wedding. Which reminds me," Eric pressed the back of his head into the couch cushions and yelled, "Steve?!"

"What?!" Steve yelled back.

"Cufflinks are on the bedside table!" Eric yelled.

Steve didn't respond. Eric shrugged it off. He figured that even if Steve hadn't heard him, Chin and Jerry definitely had, and they'd let him know. 

"Why do you have his cufflinks?" Jerry asked. 

"They got dropped off special last night," Eric said.

"Let me guess, Vito?" Chin smirked. 

"He knows how to get things wholesale," Eric shrugged.

Chin chuckled. It amused him how obvious it was that Vito's jewellers were probably irreparable, and that both cops definitely knew that, yet for their wedding, that got set aside for sake of budget.

"I'm gonna meet you at the hotel later. The hotel has a gym if he still has some energy to burn," Eric said. 

"We've got an hour before we're due to check into our room, hopefully we'll have calmed him down by then," Chin said.

"Just a suggestion, but if vulnerability is his issue, maybe alcohol could uh, lubricate that pride," Eric said.

"We're not gonna get the groom drunk before the ceremony Eric," Chin said plainly. 

Eric shrugged, "just a suggestion."

"Ma, alcohol for breakfast isn't a suggestion, it's a recipe for disaster!" Danny argued.

"Oh come on Danny! You were a bundle of nerves at your last wedding, and alcohol helped with that, didn't it?" Clara teased.

She hadn't stopped smiling since the moment she woke up, even with Charlie and Eddie whizzing around the room like they had eaten their weight in sugar. She seemed even more excited that Grace, and she was more excited than Danny.

"Maybe we shouldn't repeat everything from mom and Danno's wedding Grandma. Afterall, look how that worked out," Grace warned.

"Thank you for that Grace," Danny sighed drily.

"I didn't mean-" Grace began.

"Can we go now? I wanna show Steveo my lucky rock!" Charlie whined. 

"You really wanna bring that rock to the wedding Charlie? It'll be heavy to carry around all day," Danny warned.

"It's a _lucky_ rock. I wanna show Steveo," Charlie said, firmly. 

"Let the boy have his rock. There are gonna be bigger problems to focus on today," Clara said.

Danny glanced at her urgently, "Problems? What sort of problems?"

"Don't you remember your last wedding at all?" Clara asked sarcastically. 

"Parts of it, but we started drinking early and didn't really stop," Danny admitted. 

Whatever nerves he had felt early in the day were drowned by Matt assuring him everything would be okay, and whiskey. It wasn't until he clapped eyes on Rachel that he actually felt that sickening anxiety that caused him to imagine the divorce rapidly heading his way. It was harder to remember the good parts of the day when they had been overcast by years of resentment. 

"Just relax," Clara urged as she set a glass of champagne in front of him. "We've got two hours before we're scheduled to check into the hotel, let's have some breakfast and wait for Eric."

"Isn't he meeting us at the hotel with pop?" Danny asked. 

"No I told him to come here so he could photograph everything," Clara said. 

Danny pinched the brim of his nose, "Why? Why? Why would you do that? Eric's just gonna get under our feet, he's not gonna take anything seriously, why would you tell him to come here?!"

"Because I'm not featured in the last wedding album almost at all and I want to fix that this time round!" Clara insisted 

"I can't keep telling you this Ma! This is not a do over wedding for me and Rachel! This is a whole other wedding for me and Steve. You can't treat this like you're making up for the mistakes of the last wedding, it's a whole other wedding. A whole other marriage. It's gonna have it's own mistakes. Loads of mistakes. There's probably going to be loads of arguing too, because even though we picked a peace theme, we don't actually know what peace is when we're together. Maybe the whole theme was a mistake, is it too late to change it?"

Grace looked to Clara, who returned her look with a sense of concern. That didn't ease Grace's nerves.

"A little too late, yeah, given the ceremony starts in like three hours," She said.

"Three hours huh?" Danny muttered.

You would be surprised at how far you can travel in three hours. Especially if you're running away from something and no one knows about it. Especially in a car as fast as the one Eddie had hired. Danny didn't have a passport, but he knew people who could get him one fast...

"Where is Pop ma?" He asked. 

"I've no doubt that Eddie and Vito are already at the hotel bar," Clara shrugged. 

"Already? It's barely nine," Grace said.

"Eddie wanted help with the finishing touches of his speech and I wanted Vito out of the way. It worked like two birds one stone," Clara said.

"One _lucky_ stone," Charlie corrected. 

Grace nudged Danny gently as he ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't bothered to style it yet which was concerning enough, but he also didnt seem to care. Hair was a point of pride for Danny, so that was a key indicator that something was up. 

"You nervous Danno?" She asked gently.

"Uh, sort of..." he admitted, "this is a big change. I'd like to talk to Steve about it but..."

Danny trailed off. It had been his decision to follow the tradition that the couple couldn't see each other before the ceremony, but now doubt was creeping in and he really wished he could talk to Steve about it.

"Y'know Danno, there's no proof that seeing each other before the wedding is actually bad luck. It's all circumstantial. Even Uncle Jerry agrees with that," Grace said.

"Even Uncle Jerry huh?" Danny repeated to pretend he was listening. 

"It's normal to be nervous son, but what matters is you love Steve. That's enough," Clara assured him.

Danny nodded. "Of course it is."

_Except I loved Rachel and she left me for Stan. Rachel loved Stan but she cheated on him with me. Steve loved Catherine. You and Pop love each other and even you almost split up because just love is not enough. What happens when that stops being enough for us?_

Danny’s mind was running away with him. He glanced around his family as he quietly considered his exits. Nahele had come to fix up the Mercury over the last two weeks and Steve had been practically cart wheeling when it drove down the street. Now the garage was empty, no one would ever think to look for him in there.

Across town, in the drive way of Jerry's house, Steve was growling in frustration as the mercury's engine refused to turn over. When it failed again he slammed a fist against the dashboard.

"This is ridiculous, we got it here, why won't it go now?!" He yelled.

"Careful, you don't wanna flood it," Chin warned.

Steve threw his hands in the air hopelessly and huffed as he slumped against the chair to sulk. Chin allowed to to sulk for a moment or two as they waited for the engine to relax.

"Is it time to think about plan B?" Chin asked cautiously. 

"I don't want to do plan B, I want to drive this there," Steve spat.

Chin nodded quietly as Steve sulked again. He wasn't often one to put his foot down. Usually he would adapt to any problem whenever it arose. Today though, he was adamant that this car, old and battered as it was, would be a part of the wedding. Chin didn't want to be the one to disagree with that dream, but when Steve turned the key again, the car just choked. Steve grunted in frustration as it refused to move. They had to be realistic about this. 

"Steve, I know you want your father to be a part of your day, but-" Chin began.

"But nothing," Steve said sharply, "This car is all I have left of him that isn't another mystery telling me about how my family lied to me again. I want good one thing, _one_ thing, that's from my family!"

Chin didn't have a response for that. He didn't need one. He had learned over time, and from experience with Steve, that sometimes all they needed was someone to sit with them so they weren't alone with their thoughts. In time, those thoughts would voice themselves. It was just a matter of waiting

"Yknow... towards the end there," Steve began slowly as he stared down at the scuff marks along the dashboard, "I think you knew dad better than I did."

Chin raised his head and considered this for a moment. It felt kinder to lie. "I'm not sure that's true."

"We'll never know now, but... but we didn't talk. You did. He was your partner. You're always closer to your partner than to anyone else really, aren't you?" Steve said.

Chin reluctantly nodded. "That's what makes policework work."

Steve forced a smile because he knew that Chin was right. Police work wouldn't work if you didn't trust your partner with your life, and you wouldn't trust your partner like that unless you were close. Chin and John had been close. Steve couldn't pretend that he didn't regret all the time he spent not in contact with his father. Now Doris and Deb and Joe were gone too, he had lost any resemblance of a parental figure he ever had. 

All that was left was this car.

"In a weird way, we're only here because of him... If he hadn't... if Hesse hadn't... if all those years ago I hadn't come home for the funeral, I would never have met Danny," Steve said.

Chin nodded along with him. "Fate is a funny thing."

"Fate?"

"Call if whatever you want but your story lead you here for a reason. As insane as it was along the way-"

"It was pretty insane wasnt it?" Steve smirked. 

"Totally crazy!" Chin laughed, "But it lead here. To happiness. Just like me, losing Maila twice, lead me to Sara and Abbey. It's fate."

"Yeah... What'd you think he would have made of this?" Steve asked.

"This being the wedding or this being you?" Chin asked.

"Both."

"You created a successful and brilliant task force, defended this island from attack for years, saved countless lives, found justice for countless people, and you fell in love with someone who makes you happier than I've ever seen you. In doing so you created a home. A family. Helped Mary build hers, helped Debs through the hardest part of hers, and now you're still worried about what he'd think of you?"

Chin tilted his head against the back of his chair as he watched the way Steve sank lower into his. There were old photographs somewhere in the back of Deb's albums, of Steve in this same car, this same seat, younger than Charlie was now. Back then he couldn't see over the dashboard without craning his neck. If Steve sulked much lower, he'd be at the same height. 

"Steve, John was always proud of you. Believe me."

Steve bowed his head as Chin laid a hand across his back. Choosing a best man had been a difficult decision for Steve to make. If he couldn't have Danny, he needed to figure out who else he trusted to keep him in check. He narrowed it down fairly quickly to Junior or Chin. Lou almost made the cut, but he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with today so no responsibility fell on him if things went wrong. 

Junior was a smart kid. Brave and loyal too. He understood what it meant to be a SEAL as well as Five-O, and how important discipline and planning was, especially for an important operation like this.   
But when push came to shove, Chin had no qualms about punching Steve in the face and telling him he was being stupid, and Steve just didn't think Junior had it in him.

Besides, Chin was possibly the only person with any kind of ability to make smart decisions to every wear a Five-O badge. 

Already, right now, when the day had barely started, Chin had managed help Steve over this bump.

"Come on. Today isn't supposed to be a sad day. Let's see if we can get this thing going shall we?" Chin said.

"No, I think the clutch has gone. Even if the engine would turn over, the biting point is practically nonexistent and it would just stall repeatedly. We'd never get to the hotel before Danny," Steve admitted.

"So what do you want to do?" Chin asked.

"Can we take your car?" Steve asked.

"Do you wanna drive it?" Chin offered.

Steve snorted, but turned his head to grin at Chin. Chin's mustang was special. He never even let Kono drive if he could avoid it. Today though, today was special.

"Obviously," Steve grinned. 

Chin was checking the room listings to see who was here already as he checked himself and Steve into a room. It had been decided months in advance that Danny would get the bridal suite, because he required more space. After all he had way more people to check in on him than Steve did. Although by the look of the hotel's guest list, most of the Williams family was already here waiting for him to arrive.

So was Mary.

"Uh oh, I know that look," She warned as she clapped eyes on her brother.

Whatever stoic expression of deep thought Steve had been sporting vanished as he saw his sister smiling at him. His warm grin lit up his face instead. 

"UNCLE STEVE!" Joan yelled eagerly.

She raced across the hotel reception as fast as her little legs could carry her, and threw herself at Steve. Steve scooped her up with a grunt and sat her on his hip.

"Aloha Joanie! Wow you've gotten so big! What's mommy feeding you, trees?!" He teased.

She giggled. "No silly! Fruit and veg that make your bones strong and muscles big!"

She flexed her arm muscles to show him.

"Well it's working!" Steve grinned. He leaned forward to kiss Mary's cheek as she reached up to hug him. "I'm glad you're here sis."

"Are you kidding? I'm not gonna miss my brother's wedding day for anything!" She beamed.

Chin wandered back over, carrying the room keys in one hand, and two garment bags tossed over his shoulder. 

"We're in room 201, hey Mary!" He beamed.

"Aloha Chin! So good to see you!" Mary beamed back.

"Wow is this Joan?!" He gasped as his eyes fell on the little girl in Steves arms, "You're all grown up! Aloha, I'm your Uncle Chin."

Joan's grip on Steve grew a little tighter as she apprehensively smiled, "Hi?"

"You won't remember me, but I remember when you were this big! Me, uncle Danny and uncle Steve were looking after you for the day. You helped us solve a very big crime," Chin explained, warmly.

Joan's eyes widened. Her apprehension vanished. "I did?!"

"You did. Now you're all grown up, maybe you can help me keep an eye on this guy huh? Make sure we get him down the aisle?" Chin winked.

"Uncle Steve is going to marry Uncle Danny Uncle Chin. It's their happily ever after!" Joan stated plainly.

Steve chuckled warmly. To Joan it was a statement of fact. All of her stories told her that two people in love ended happily ever after, and these were two people in love. She had no reason to doubt the evidence infront of her. 

Mary, however, could see a flicker of doubt in Steve.

"Of course it is honey. Why don't you and Uncle Chin go up to room 201 was it? And make sure everything's where it should be huh?" She suggested. 

Chin wasn't sure why he and Joan were being sent away, but he didn't question it. He just flashed Joan a big smile as Steve set her down on the ground again. 

"We get to sweep for criminals. Won't that be fun? C'mon Joan, let's go look," he said.

He held out a hand for her to take. Joan looked up at Mary for permission, and Mary smiled warmly which was enough to satisfy her. Joan took his hand and allowed him to walk her towards the elevators.

"Mahalo Chin," Mary called quietly. 

Chin threw her a wink, and his usual radiant grin as he walked away. Steve folded his arms as the attention turned back to him.

"Your excuses for sending her away are getting lazy," he said.

"Shut up, what's going on with you?" She asked.

"What? Nothing, I'm fine. I'm excited to get married," Steve shrugged plainly.

"Wow. Even you don't believe that," Mary said.

Steve bowed his head and shifted his feet, "I am, really, it's just..."

"What? Tell me, I'm your sister, I'll help you though anything," she assured him urgently. 

Steve sighed. "Do you remember just before mom died-"

"Which time?" Mary interrupted. 

"The first time. When I was sixteen, I had a part in the talent show-" Steve continued. 

"I can still recite the chords to the song you repeated them so much," Mary snorted.

"Then I chickened out on stage. I couldn't handle the spotlight. All those eyes on me... I just froze. I can't be that vulnerable," Steve confessed. 

His shoulders sagged and his head hung low like he was confessing something unforgivable. Mary just wrinkled her nose.

"What? I don't remember that."

"Why would you, you were only young."

"No, yeah, but I remember you dragging a stool in from the garage to sit on while you played your song to me. You were only practicing and you complained that you kept getting it wrong, but it sounded good to me. I remember that clearly," Mary said firmly.

"That's different," Steve countered, "You and I are siblings, we have a different relationship to everyone here. It's deeper. It's _ohana."_

Mary's confused expression didn't change. "Right, but isn't everyone here? You and me are the only true McGarrett's left Steve. If we're relying on blood to count as ohana-"

"Of course we aren't," Steve interrupted indignantly. 

"Then what makes this different?" Mary asked.

"There's more people- I have to talk about how I _feel-"_

"You can't keep hiding from feelings Steve. Everyone already knows you've got them. The bravest thing you can do is admit it."

"Maybe I'm not as brave as you think I am," Steve muttered.

"Youre a Navy SEAL who became head of a taskforce and saved Hawaii and America and _t_ _he world_ from terror attacks almost single handed. Of course you're as brave as I think you are," Mary countered firmly.

Steve glanced up at her. She folded her arms stubbornly across her chest, like there was still more argument in her if he wasn't convinced yet. She didn't need it. With Mary here, Steve didn't feel so alone in a sea of strangers. His parents weren't around, his aunt and parental figures were around, he couldn't even get his car here - but he had Mary.

"I should have picked you to be my best man," he said.

"Yes you should," she nodded.

"We should get out of here. Danny's scheduled to arrive an hour after us so we don't accidentally cross paths and see each other early," He said.

"Then let's go. Room 201," Mary ordered. 

Steve smirked and stepped aside for her. "Lead the way."

When Steve got to the room, Chin and Joan were already there. Along the way they had bumped into Adam, who was perched on the edge of the bed with Joan laying across his knees so her head dangled upside down. She giggled brightly as he pulled her back upright. Mary laughed along at the sound of her daughter's joy. It was a good feeling they were stepping into. Steve’s chest warmed. 

As easily as that his own excitement for the day ahead grew.

Danny hid in the bridal suite the moment he got through the door. He was keenly aware of just how many guests were already booked into the hotel, and how many were already hanging around waiting for him and Steve to appear. The sooner they found out where he was, the sooner they would flood the room. He wanted five or ten minutes to himself, just to think.

To that end, he sent Charlie to find Steve - not that he needed encouraging - asked Grace to ensure everything was in order and being set up, and left Clara to greet whatever guests had already arrived.   
One such guest was Jerry, who had felt the need to come in early to help set up. Eric wandered over to him as he helped set out chairs along the make shift aisle. 

"Y’know we have staff for this right?" He joked.

"Chin's a best man, you're a photographer, I wanted to he helpful too," Jerry shrugged.

"You're a guest dude. You don’t have to be helpful you just have to be here," Eric said.

"Well if you need any help tonight I've become quite adept at candid photography. It's a side effect of surveillance," Jerry offered.

Eric eyed the bar cautiously, searching for his grandfather. "I'll bear that in mind."

Kono staggered slightly as the edge of her dress caught under her heels. She huffed her hair back out of her eyes as she groaned to herself. Even in her long sleek dress with her hair swept up onto her head, she looked a little dishevelled. Eric smirked to himself as she came closer. 

"Good night was it?" He teased.

Kono frowned at him. "Huh?"

"I'm just asking because, y’know, you're sweaty, you look exhausted and you smell faintly of vomit," Eric explained. 

Kono shifted her weight onto one leg and set her hand on her hip as she stared at him. Jerry shuffled aside just in case that bejewelled black clutch went flying straight at them. 

"You really know how to flatter a woman don’t you?" Kono said drily.

"I’m just saying I know a hangover when I see one," Eric grinned.

"Hangover?" Kono repeated. 

Jerry wasn't sure if the mild confusion in her tone was real or if she was just playing innocent. Eric snorted. He was convinced. 

"Alright, keep your secrets. I've got aspirin if you need it," he assured her.

"I’m good," she said.

"How's the leg?" Jerry asked.

Kono glanced down at her leg, and shrugged, "Great. Nothing spending the next six to ten hours in three inch heels won't fix."

"If it's any compensation you look lovely," he said earnestly. 

Kono smiled warmly, "Mahalo Jerry."

"Totally great," Eric agreed.

"Thanks Eric," her tone was less warm.

"Like, straight up gorgeous," Eric continued.

"Don't press your luck," Kono warned.

Eric looked up at Jerry, who gave him a stern look. He recognised it from Danny quite a lot. It boiled down to a question he had never been able to answer. _Why are you like this?_

The irony was that if he had looked over towards the entrance where Clara was waiting to greet the arriving guests, he would have discovered the answer very quickly.

Rachel wouldn't pretend that it wasn't odd for her to be there, but Danny had come to her second wedding for Grace's sake, and she felt an urge to return the favour. She was taking a moment to breath in some calm before stepping in when Clara spotted her.

"Hey Rachel! Long time no see!" She beamed. 

Rachel forced a smile back, "Clara! Always a pleasure."

"I have to admit, I'm surprised to see you here. I remember when you got married and Danny hit the roof!" Clara chuckled.

Rachel was trying hard not to think about that. If she had caused Danny to feel the way she currently did that was enough to make her feel guilty. 

"That was a long time ago. I haven’t seen Danny this happy since Grace was born. And Steve has always been there for the kids, he’s a good bloke. I'm happy for them," She said.

Clara smiled and tilted her head, silently informing Rachel that she didn't believe her. It was a look she was going to see a lot today.

"Danny has you looking after the kids doesn’t he?" She asked. 

Rachel shrugged and chuckled, "No one wants their kids around on their wedding night."

"Was that a problem when you married Stan?" Clara asked. 

"No, Grace stayed with my mother that night. Besides, he's marrying Steve. The problem he had with Stan-" Rachel began.

"Was that he was still in love with you?" Clara offered. 

Rachel's jaw clenched as the burst of guilt hit her chest. "Stan was a threat for Grace's affection. That’s why he was called Step Stan. Danny couldn't bare to hear her call him step dad. Now he's in competition with his own husband, I'm not."

"Even so, I don't think I would be able to go to my ex husbands wedding. You’re braver than I am," Clara smiled earnestly. 

"Thank you."

Clara patted her arm as she moved on to the next guest. Rachel did not feel brave. She felt like a drink. A big one. She headed straight to the bar and leaned straight across it as she ordered.

"One _l_ _arge_ gin and tonic please."

From someone along the bar she heard a familiar voice chortling at her order. "Whoa, someone's starting early!"

"Perhaps I have a reason- Oh. Uncle Vito."

Vito lit up to see her. "Hi Rach! Oh, see, now I understand why you're starting early. This one's on me."

He pressed his card against the bar to use when the bartender returned. Rachel shook her head. 

"No, no you don’t have to-"

"I want to."

"Please don't," she urged, "I'm not sad, I'm happy for Danny-"

Vito shook his head back at her. "It ain't about you being happy or sad kid. Today you’re gonna be facing every member of this family, and every one of them is gonna say just how brave you are for being here, and even if you say you’re happy for Danny, even if you mean it, not one of em is gonna believe you."

Rachel’s shoulders sagged as she sighed, "I know."

"Take the drink. Save your money. You're gonna end up having a lot more than one," Vito said.

He tapped his card against the machine to pay off her debt, and patted her shoulder as he passed by to leave. She turned on the stool as he went.

"Vito?" 

"Yeah honey?"

"I really am happy that Danny has found someone to love him like he deserves."

She meant it with all the honestly in the world. Vito could see it in her eyes. A smirk broke across his face. 

"I believe you. Thousands won't."

Eric glanced about as people slowly began to drift into the room. "Is Adam around? I feel like I barely saw him at the party."

"He's gone to find Steve to wish him luck," Kono said.

"That's nice. Maybe I should wish Danny luck, I haven't seen him yet, is he here?" Jerry asked. 

"Yeah, he’s in the bridal suite, go on up," Eric gestured towards the stairs.

Jerry's eye had been caught by a member of staff struggling to carry in a large vase full of flowers. "I will in a sec- need a hand with that? No I insist."

Eric chuckled at Jerry's need to help. He was always one to volunteer if it meant he could make things easier. It was endearing really. Eric wasn't used to people being helpful. He was used to them teasing each other endlessly. Which Danny should expected from his sister from the moment he agreed to take the bridal suite.

The door flew open as his sister strolled in, shaking a bottle of champagne in the air to show it off as she came in.

"Did someone order champers?!" She cried.

Danny lifted his head. A strange battle between joy and disdain tangled in his chest to see her.

"Stella," he feigned delight.

"Because we brought a spare," Bridget beamed as she slipped into view behind Stella.

"Bridget," Danny tried to be delighted. 

He wanted to be delighted. But more than anything he wanted to be alone. Bridget set the bottle aside and leaned down to kiss his cheek. Stella pulled her aside to wrap her arms around Danny. He got a mouthful of body glitter from her shoulder as she did.

"Hello Dan-Dan!" She beamed.

Danny wrinkled his nose, "Don’t call me that, I'm not ten anymore."

"Bridal suite huh? Seems about right," Stella teased.

Danny gave her an unimpressed look. "Did you just come to take the piss?"

"Absolutely," Stella beamed.

"Absolutely _not!"_ Bridget corrected stubbornly, "We came to check in on our big bro who we haven't seen in _forever_ on his _wedding day_?! Can you believe it?! You’re getting married!"

"Again!" Stella added.

"After everything you said about marriage," Bridget snorted.

"It's a trap, it never works, people weren't meant to be married, that's why it takes so much paperwork!" Stella repeated, teasingly.

"Of all four of us, I never thought you'd be the one brave enough to get married again," Bridget said, sincerely. 

"Is it brave, or is it stupid? It's a fine line, sometimes it's hard to tell," Stella teased.

Danny knew that she was joking. He also knew that if, even for a moment, she knew that she was voicing the exact thought echoing through his chest, she never would have said it. But to hear it out loud felt like being hit with a frying pan.

"Are you two here for a reason, because I can call security," he said.

"You snitch!" Stella howled. 

His chest ached. It had been years since he last saw Stella, but she hadn't grown up at all. At least not when she was surrounded by family. She was the same kid now that she was when Eric was born. It was mildly disheartening.

"Aw c'mon, there's no snitches in our family. Snitches get stitches, everyone knows that," Bridget smiled.

Stella hauled herself onto the bed that took up most of this room. She sat up on it to grin at Danny in the dresser mirror.

"How have you been Dan-Dan? Get enough sleep last night?" She asked.

"Not really," he admitted.

"Too excited? Don’t worry, that's what that bed over there is for," Bridget assured him.

"It's not what we used it for at my wedding," Stella giggled.

"Shh, no one wants to know what happened at your wedding," Bridget hissed.

"Tell him about yours then, bossy boots," Stella smirked. 

"Everyone knows what happened at her wedding. You missed half of your own reception!" Danny warned her.

"I was in love," Bridget argued.

"Look how that worked out," Stella scoffed.

"You’re one to talk - you run off to get married in Vegas and all you bring back is Eric!" Danny argued.

"And he’s the only man who ever stood by me. I don't regret that decision in the slightest," Stella stated firmly.

"You shouldn't, he’s a good kid," Danny agreed. 

"He's a pain in the ass," Bridget said.

"But he's gonna be the one who makes it rich! My boy's gonna be rich enough to keep me comfortable," Stella grinned smugly.

"Sophie's got herself a rich man, I'm sure we'll be fine," Bridget huffed.

"How's Grace doing? Last I heard she'd finally chosen a college out here in Hawaii. You keep those apron strings close huh Dan-Dan?" Stella winked.

The tension in his chest eased at the mention of his daughter. Grace came with far fewer doubts than Steve. Especially today. It was easier to think about her future than his own.

"Grace is gonna be a marine biologist," he announced proudly. 

"So she's not coming home any time soon?" Bridget said.

"There's more marine creatures out here than in Newark. There's stranger creatures in Newark, but it's not marine," Danny chuckled. 

"Where are the kids anyway? You’ve been gone so long I don’t think I ever met my nephew," Stella said. 

"They're with Steve," Danny said.

"Yeah, y’know, I haven't met him either!" Stella sat up as she said it, "How am I supposed to know if he’s good enough for my brother if I've never grilled him?"

"Because I say he's good enough," Danny said plainly. 

"That was never good enough for my boyfriends," Stella countered.

"Or mine," Bridget agreed.

"Because they weren't good enough, if they were, you'd still be married!" Danny huffed.

"Like you're so good at picking partners, look how you and Rachel turned out!" Bridget argued.

"Me and Rachel are fine. She's happy for me and Steve, Steve's most of the reason she and I ever manage to be in the same room together. She's even come to celebrate with us," Danny said. 

Both Bridget and Stella straightened up urgently. The shift of the atmosphere in the room did nothing to help Danny's nerves. He regretted ever opening his mouth.

"She’s here? Today? At the wedding?" Bridget asked urgently.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, remember Cousin Lou's wedding?" Stella asked.

"And Cousin Charlotte's," Bridget agreed.

"Both got their weddings ruined by a jealous ex. Keep an eye on Rach today, I mean it," Stella warned.

Danny's head felt like it was going to explode already. He didn’t need to deal with this as well.

"Girls-" he began.

As he spoke he stood up, revealing his old comfy grey sweatpants. Both girls instantly changed the subject. 

"Is that what you're wearing today?" Stella frowned.

"And I thought the hair was bad!" Bridget gasped.

"Should I run and rent you a suit?" Stella asked.

"Do you want me to fix your hair?" Bridget offered.

Danny rolled his eyes as he felt them throw his mind into a spin. 

"Enough! Stop it! Out!" He barked.

"We're only teasing, we would never touch your hair," Stella insisted. 

"Out!" Danny repeated. He ushered Stella off of the bed and towards the door as he went. "I just want ten minutes to myself okay? I just want ten minutes to get ready, and have space to breath, is that too much to ask?"

"Actually-" Stella began. 

Bridget cut her off as Danny ushered them out into the hallway. "Of course not. Don't worry Danny, we won't bother you for at least ten minutes."

"Thank you."

The way she said it told Danny that she undoubtedly had a plan, and it was almost definitely going to cause an issue to him later, but that was later, and he would deal with it then. He shut the door on both of them.

"What now?" Stella asked.

"Now we find Steve," Bridget grinned. 

Stella's eyes sparkled eagerly, "Brilliant!"

As they hurried down the hallway to find out what room Steve was in, they passed Eddie. They slowed to swap greetings, but didn't stop. Eddie chuckled to himself as they passed by. No matter how old they got, his girls were always going to revert to teenagers when they were together. 

Eddie pushed the door open cautiously as he leaned his head into the bridal suite. "Knock knock?"

"Who is it now?!" Danny huffed from the next room.

"It's just me," Eddie called. Danny looked a little sheepish as he returned to the main room, but he still didn’t look happy at the interruption. "Some people have started bringing in gifts, do you want a table set up for them, or shall we keep them in here?"

"Um... keep them in here. That way they're safe. No, put them on a table, that way everyone can see them, and see if anyone tries to take them. No- y’know what, ask Steve, I can't think," Danny sighed.

His mind was foggy. There were so many things swimming through his mind that he couldn't think. Eddie tilted his head at him cautiously. 

"Everything okay son?" He asked.

"Yeah..." Danny sighed.

"I'd believe you more if you were dressed like you were at least attending a wedding today," Eddie said.

"Bridge and Stella were just in here," Danny said.

"Ah. That makes sense," Eddie chuckled.

Danny forced a laugh but it sounded hollow. Eddie eyed him carefully. It wasn't like Danny to have doubts about big decisions. He usually thought through every single option before settling on a plan. Doubts came afterwards. 

Eddie rested a hand on his shoulder and said, quietly, "Y’know, I'm proud of you son."

Just like that every thought in Danny’s head was silenced at once.

"You are? What for?" He asked.

"It takes a brave man to fall in love and get married for a second time. Especially when he's such a loud mouth about marriage being stupid," Eddie teased gently. 

"I didn't say stupid, I said it was pointless and doing something pointless was stupid," Danny corrected. 

"Why you gotta be pedantic?" Eddie asked.

"I'm pointing out what I actually said!" Danny insisted. 

"I don't know how Steve puts up with you sometimes, he must be a saint," Eddie scoffed.

Danny scoffed scornfully. Steve was far from sainthood. As far from sainthood as it was possible to get. Danny was his voice of reason, and if anything, that made him the saint. Steve was nothing but a pain. A danger prone pain. That was the worst kind.

"Am I walking you down the aisle today?" Eddie asked.

Danny frowned. "What? No, why?"

"I just wondered. It's the bridal suite after all, I thought maybe I had to give you away too," Eddie teased.

"You don't give me away pop, I walk like a fully grown human person," Danny said drily.

"I was just asking! No need to bite my head off," Eddie huffed. 

"Sorry," Danny muttered.

"It's alright son, I understand. It's scarier the second time round huh? This time you know how easily it can all go wrong," Eddie said.

He rubbed Danny's back reassuringly as he said it. Danny rolled his eyes. He loved his family but they did not settle his nerves. Usually Steve did that, but he couldn't talk to him today. That didn't help.

"I need to get dressed," he said. 

"Right. Of course. I'll be downstairs, I left Vito at the bar. Before I forget, this is from Grace. She says it'll keep the party connected. I've got one for Steve too, if I ever find him," Eddie said.

"The guest list says he’s in room 201," Danny said.

Eddie frowned. He raised an eyebrow. "That's a security risk, surely? Private information like that can't just be given out to-"

"I'm the other groom, I asked, they told me," Danny said plainly.

Eddie wasn't convinced. "I'll be back later. Get dressed."

Danny held his smile as he father left the room. There were two thuds in rapid procession. The first was the door shutting, the second was Danny's head hitting the desk. With doubts swirling over head, he suddenly wondered if ten minutes would be enough to ease them.

If he could ever get ten minutes that is.


	7. Chapter 7

Steve was not the kind of groom who was going to stay put. At least he hadnt intended to be. He assumed that the only people who would come to check in on him in his room were Chin and Mary. His best man and his sister. That would give him plenty of time to change and get out to double check the finishing touches for the rest of the wedding.

He did not expect the flow of Williams that came to seek him out. 

Vito came first. He was already at the hotel when he arrived, and reminded him that if he hurt Danny then hia body would never be found. Steve bit back a smirk at the idea of Vito trying to kill him. Vito had a drink in his hand and a beer belly and a faint scene of tobacco around him. Steve was a cop. He was sure that even if somehow Vito managed to get the jump on him, he wouldn't get away with it.

Eddie was next. He dropped by his room, just to wish him luck. Steve was with Adam, Chin, Mary and Joan at the time, so he kept it brief as so not to interrupt. Steve was rather pleased to see him. He dropped off the radio from Grace at the same time. One for Steve, and one for Chin. Chin had no intention of taking it with him.

Charlie was best though. The boy flung open the door and scanned the room searching for him. He ignored his uncles greeting him, Mary asking what he was up to, and Joan looking at him with a strange kind of curiosity in her eyes. The lack of response caught Steve's curiosity from where he was changing in the bathroom. When his head popped out from the door, Charlie lit up.

"Steveo!" He cried.

He ran over to throw his arms around Steve. It knocked him back as he did, but he laughed. Steve wrapped his arms back around him and rocked with him on his shoes playfully.

"Charlie! You are rocking that suit kiddo," He laughed.

"Gracie did my tie for me," Charlie beamed.

"She did huh? That's awesome," Steve grinned. 

Chin's eyebrows raised as he took in the kid infront of him. "Wow. I feel like I've missed so much more than I expected. This is Charlie?! You're so big!" 

Charlie bundled himself close to Steve's legs like a baby penguin as he looked around the room.

"Aloha uncle Adam, aloha auntie Mary, aloha uncle Chin," he said as he waved nervously. 

"Hey little dude, I love that jacket," Mary beamed.

Adam smiled warmly as he waved back. Joan was chewing her fingers shyly but she waved with the other hand. Chin looked surprised though.

"You remember me?" He asked.

"Not really, but there's lots of photos," Charlie admitted.

"That, yeah, that makes more sense," Chin nodded. 

Charlie tugged on the edge of Steve's shirt. "Steveo, I have a present for you."

"You don't have to get me presents bud-" Steve paused as Charlie raised his hand to show him a small round grey pebble, "a stone?"

"A lucky rock," Charlie corrected. 

"Yeah Steveo, its a lucky rock, not a stone!" Adam teased, as if it were obvious. 

"Yeah what's the matter with you, cant you tell the difference?" Chin chuckled.

"I tell you what Charlie, you hold onto that for now because I still need to get dressed and I don't want it to get lost, okay?" Steve smiled.

Charlie frowned, a little disappointed, but nodded. He tucked the rock safely back into his pocket. Steve ducked back into the bathroom to finish getting dressed. While he was gone, Charlie climbed up onto the bed, next to Mary and Joan. He and Joan eyed each other cautiously, like they weren't entirely sure what to make of each other. The adults chuckled at their caution. 

It wouldn't be long until they made friends.

Chin sat Charlie on his knee as Charlie told him all about weddings and how important it was to have the rings because that's what bound the couple together. Adam set Steve's navy cap on Charlie's head. It was too big for him and fell over his eyes. His bright smile was echoed in his giggled. 

Once again the door swung open and a man no one in the room recognised was shoved through the doorway by two women that they also didn't recognise. The man looked uncomfortable. They had seen enough kidnapping cases to know he was here under duress. Chin straightned his back as his arm instinctively moved to defend Charlie. Adam subtly reached for his holster. 

One of the woman pushed past to stand in front of them and placed her hands on her hips. She eyed the men in turn. Mary took the opportunity to quietly slip out of the room, taking Joan with her.

"Which of you is Steve?" The stranger demanded.

Bridget and Eddie frowned as Adam and Chin shared an uncertain look. Adam's hand slipped away from his gun. If they were looking for Steve, maybe they weren't actually strangers.

"Uh, none of them. Hello fellas, I'm Eddie. Father of the groom," Eddie explained.

He reached out a hand to shake theirs, and gave them an apologetic look at the same time.

"I'm Adam, I'm a close friend. I work with them, both of them."

"I'm Chin. Best man."

"I'm-" Charlie pushed the hat out if his eyes and paused to grin when he recognised the man before him. "Pop-pop?"

Eddie beamed at him. He hadn't recognised him while half his head was hidden under his fathers cap.

"Charlie! Hey little man!" Eddie said.

Stella and Bridget locked eyes on the boy, taking in their nephew for the first time in his life. Stella smiled at him, already adoring how cute he looked in his little suit and waistcoat. 

"Oh you're Charlie? Hello! I'm your Aunt Stella. It's so good to finally meet you!" She cooed.

"I'm Auntie Bridget. That's a really snazzy hat," Bridget smiled.

Charlie leaned back towards Chin to put some more space between himself and his two new aunts.

"Mahalo. It's Steveo's."

Both of the woman knelt down to fuss over Charlie as his grip on Chin's jacket grew tighter. Chin he knew from photos hanging on the walls of his house, but these two he didn't recognise at all. He hadn't expected to be thrust into the centre of attention of so many unfamiliar faces today. It was a little unnerving. 

"Fellas, you might want to make a break for it while you still can," Eddie warned Chin and Adam.

They weren't sure what he meant, but he made a hasty exit before anyone could stop him. 

Steve had intended to step out of the bathroom and show off his Navy blues to the boys, like they hadn't seen him in them before. To be fair it was rare for him to wear them and getting rarer. Despite the lack of opportunity to wear them, Steve liked how dashing he looked in them, if he did say so himself. If only he could find his hat.

When he did step out of the bathroom though, he found he wasnt the centre of attention. He hadn't expected to find two women standing over his son. The immediate knot of defense in his stomach forced him to step towards them, but when they turned back to look at him his stomach dropped.

Steve had never met Stella, but he had met Bridget, and he had been told in no uncertain terms to never allow himself to be trapped in a room with both of them together. Now it seemed he had made that mistake. With the entrance of a new face in a neatly pressed black uniform and shiny medals decorating his jacket, attention moved away from Charlie. 

"What are you, a stripper?" Stella sneered. 

"Hey! There are keikis in the room," Chin warned.

His hands moved to cover Charlie's ears but it was too late now. Charlie slid off his knee and hurried over to Steve. He buried himself against his leg while Steve laid a hand on the back of his head reassuringly. 

"Hey bud, it's okay, it's okay. These are your aunts. Danno's sister's. They're ohana," Steve assured him.

Bridget held out her arms to pull him into a hug. "Steve! It's been so long! You're still drop dead gorgeous I see- oh but, there's bits of grey too, they werent there last time were they?"

Steve rolled his eyed as Bridget pawed at the specks of grey in his hair. Usually he would have had stubble to match, but he had shaved it off moments earlier.

"Aloha Bridget, nice to see you again," he said. 

Stella folded her arms across her chest as she took in the mans appearance. "So this is Steve?"

"You must be Stella," he said.

He held out a hand to try and shake hers, but she didn't move from where hers were folded across her chest. 

"Last one was a cop, this one's a navy boy, our big brother sure does love a man in uniform huh?" Stella said to Bridget. 

"Can you blame him?" Bridget winked.

Adam and Chin shares a pointed look as both of them wondered what it would take to get them out of this conversation. 

"It's creepy, the only man in uniform we ever saw growing up was pop," Stella argued.

"No the only uniform we were ever taught to respect was pop. Firemen are the backbone of the emergency services," Bridget countered.

"You realise everyone in this room except you two are cops right?" Steve warned.

"Not this one surely. He's far too handsome. What'd they do, keep you around for the calanders?" Stella asked Adam.

Adam felt his cheeks flush as he fumbled for an answer. Chin chuckled, and offered no aid.

"Remember Danny's calander?" Stella asked Bridget. 

"Remember it? It's still on the wall at Sal's bar and grill!" Bridget snorted.

The two of them laughed to themselves at the memory of their brother half naked for the sake of a charity calendar that he bitterly regretted. Adam saw this distraction as an opportunity to not only save himself, but Charlie too.

"Hey Charlie, d'you wanna come and find auntie Kono with me?" He whispered. 

"Yes please," Charlie whispered back.

Adam held out a hand to him and Charlie hurried over. Steve kept an eye on him as he moved. Without the kid there to remind him he wasn't alone, he suddenly felt a lot more exposed in front of his in laws.

"Don't feel you have to leave," Bridget said to him.

"Yeah not on our account, we were only playing," Stella said. 

Adam hesitated for a moment, and looked to Steve for permission. The colour had drained from his cheeks and his eyes were wide as he tracked Adam's movements. Charlie, however, took the empty space betwen him and the exit as an invitation. He bolted out of it. Adam swiftly followed.

Stella turned back to Steve. Her voice dropped sternly, "We're not playing with you though."

"Me?" Steve repeated nervously. 

"Yeah, you might be navy trained, I hear you're a SEAL too which is smart, but we're Danny's sisters. We love him more than anyone in the world-" Stella began.

"Except ma," Bridget interrupted. 

"Except Ma. He's a pillar of the community, the corner stone of our family, and when he loves he loves hard. That means he gets hurt hard," Stella warned.

"He's been through enough," Bridget said, seriously. 

Steve gulped. He glanced at Chin, who hadn't moved. Chin was watching. Waiting. There if he was needed. That was enough back up to calm his heartbeat, even if his hands were still clammy.

"Ladies, before you threaten a cop's life in front of other cops and get yourself arrested on your brothers wedding day, let me promise you-"

"Cops or no cops, you hurt my brother and they'll never find your body," Stella threatened.

Steve frowned. He wondered how many people had been threatened by the Williams family for them to share a go-to threat.

"Ladies, I'm not going to let Danny get hurt. I never have. I never will. We've been through hurt together, and we always make it out the other side. That's not about to change," Steve said, firmly. 

"Then we won't have a problem, will we?" Bridget stated.

The door had not shut fully after Charlie's swift exit, but Steve still hadn't expected it to open again so soon. Grace walked in without pause but with Charlie hot on her heels. The women swivelled to look at them, and their shoulders eased. Steve felt his heart fall back into place now the attention was off of him.

"Uncle Chin- oh." Grace blinked in surprise, "Hello Auntie Bridget. Aunt Stella."

"Gracie, sweetie! Bridget and I were just-" Stella began.

Grace's eye moved across the room and quietly noted the little things that felt too familiar and peiced them together almost instantly. 

"I've introduced Danno to enough boys to know that look Aunt Stella. Steveo isn't going to hurt Danno, he loves him too much," she assured them.

"Of course he does honey, but we wouldn't be doing our jobs as siblings if we didn't warn him of the dangers now would we?" Bridget said.

Grace folded her arms across her stomach and glanced towards her brother. "Charlie?"

"Yeah Grace?" He blinked in surprise to be called on.

"This is what you have to look forward to if you ever want to date anyone," she warned.

"Don't be silly, we wouldn't threaten either of your partners. We have Eric for that," Stella teased. 

It had been meant as a joke, but even the implication of a veiled threat towards the kids sent a bolt of anger through Steve. His clammy hands balled into fists at the meer idea of them manipulating Eric and attempting to manipulate his kids. It burned in the pit of his stomach, and cut into his words sharply.

"Okay, I think you two should leave now. This is my family. I'm not going to let you walk in here and threaten people in front of them, it's childish at best and criminal at worst. I don't want to ruin Danny's day by chucking his last remaining siblings out so please, go downstairs with the other guests and we'll see you when the ceremony begins."

Stella and Bridget stared at him in surprise for a moment. Chin held his breath as the tension in the room made his heart race. The women turned to each other. Whatever silent conversation moved between their expressions was lost on Steve, but they came to the same conclusion. 

Laughing.

"Hark at him, already trying to control us!" Bridget cried.

"Who do you think you are?! Just because you're marrying our brother doesn't mean you can boss us around!" Stella laughed. 

Steve's shoulders sagged. "Chin, if you don't mind."

Chin blinked in surprise at how easily Steve gave in, but obediently stood up anyway. "I'll escort you downstairs ladies."

He ushed them towards the door, but when Stella turned she finally looked at Grace and saw what she was wearing. Not unlike Danny, Grace was still not dressed for wedding. Jeans and a pyjama top that no one would notice didn't exactly scream formal event.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute- Why aren't you dressed?" She gasped.

"My dress is in Danno's room," Grace shrugged. 

"Why haven't you put it on?" Bridget asked.

"I was gonna, but I had things to do, and Mom was going to help me do my hair and make up but she's a bit..." Grace thought carefully about her phrasing, "put out..."

Stella stepped forward to wrap her arm around Grace's shoulders, which allowed her body glitter to catch in the girls hair.

"Let auntie Stella help you out," she declared.

"Oh, um..." Grace glanced at Steve.

She was aware that if he had any reason to think she didn't want to go with them then he would jump on the chance to help her. But she also knew that the best way to keep her aunt's out of her fathers hair was to let them do hers. Today was about keeping things calm until the ceremony was over at least. 

"Yeah, yeah, okay-" she stammered. 

Stella hummed with satisfaction as she tried to walk Grace towards the door. Grace fought against her for long enough to update Steve on the current situation. 

"Steveo, the cake should be arriving in ten minutes, someone needs to be there to greet them, and the officiater says there's been a landslide on the windward side and he's gonna have to go the long way-"

"The grooms can deal with that dear, let's get you ready for the spotlight," Bridget insisted. 

"Uncle Chin you got the rings?" Grace asked.

"Right here," chin patted his pocket.

Grace latched onto the doorway as her aunts tried to pull her through it. "Charlie keep an eye on Uncle Chin okay, you need those rings when the ceremony starts."

"What kind of cake is it?" Charlie asked urgently.

"The rings Charlie, focus on the rings!" Grace cried.

"Let's go!" Stella cooed sweetly. 

She prized Grace's fingers off of the door to carry her away down the hall to Bridget's room, where they had both gotten ready together. Once the whirlwind of the aunts had passed, Chin let out a deep breath.

"Well they seem interesting," he said.

Steve laughed. "Can you imagine growing up with a houseful of that? No wonder Danny is the way he is!"

"Shame you can't choose family huh?" Chin smiled.

"Yet I'm choosing this one, Lord help me," Steve laughed. 

Charlie tugged on his jacket. "Steveo?"

"Yeah buddy?" Steve smiled.

"Can I help with the cake?" Charlie asked hopefully. 

Steve pursed his lips. He looked over to Chin. "Well I'm ready to go, you ready to go?"

"Sure. I'll sort out the officiater, you sort the cake," Chin said.

"Awesome, let's go mini D," Steve grinned.

Chin and Steve went their separate ways the moment the elevator hit the ground floor. Chin went straight to the main doors to get the best reception on his phone as possible as he called the officiator to check his progression, while Steve and Charlie stepped out of the delivery doors to greet the baker. Delivery came in the form of a small mint green van, with a yellow logo painted along the side. Much to Kamekona's disapproval, it wasn’t his logo.   
Steve lifted Charlie into the back of the van to have a look for the box with their name on it. Charlie went to the first box he found.

"Is that the cake?" He asked hopefully.

"No, that's the cake," Steve said as he read the label of the box on the other side of the van. "This one must be going to a different wedding."

"Or a birthday," Charlie said.

"Yeah, maybe a birthday," Steve nodded.

The delivery driver helped Steve to lift the three tier cake out of the van, but almost as soon as Steve stepped into view, Eddie called out to him.

"Ah there you are," he cried.

"Here I am! Aloha!" Steve grunted.

A wedding cake is a much heavier thing than you might expect for baked goods.

"Do you have a minute?" Eddie asked.

"Can it wait?" Steve grunted.

Fortunately the staff were actually paid to carry expensive and heavy wedding cakes into the building, and keep them refreshed until they're needed later in the day. The moment they spotted the delivery driver they hurried over to help.

"Need a hand with that?"

"Mahalo!"

Steve doffed his cap to wipe his brow for a moment, before putting it back on. Eddie smiled at him. His uniform was still neat and tidy. Eddie could just imagine him sitting up all night to polish the medals until they gleamed.

"I hope the girls weren't too rough, they can be a little protective when they're together," he said.

"Well, y’know, I don't really take well to being threatened but I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot," Steve admitted.

"No, no, that's good. If you stood up for yourself that means you're willing to fight for yourself and for Danny. They respect someone like that," Eddie said.

Steve frowned. "Really? No offence but isn’t that rather juvenile?"

Eddie wrinkled his nose and shrugged a little. "Clara raised our children almost single handily. I was in and out of fires, I spent weeks in hospital for smoke inhalation once, the kids were out getting into fights, getting into trouble, sometimes we couldn't be there to get them back out of it. Around Jersey we look out for each other, and sometimes all the kids had were each other. Now with Matty gone, the girls are just trying to step up to the plate. They can't be here to look out for Danny, so they wanna know someone is. It might be juvenile, but we never taught them better."

Steve felt a wave of guilt for not realizing sooner. If he was honest, Matt hadn't entered his head all day, but now that he had, he remembered Danny mentioning he had been his best man last time. Danny had to be missing him.

"Yeah... yeah, I get that. Sometimes I worry Mary's gonna get in trouble and I won't be able to help. Maybe I shouldn't have threatened to throw them out," Steve muttered. 

"If you didn't they would've gotten rowdier until they got themselves thrown out. Now they're gonna keep each other in check. It's a smart move," Eddie said.

"Meaning they’re gonna be smart mouthed about it right?" Steve sighed. 

Eddie nodded apologetically. "They take after Vito."

"Great," Steve sighed.

Eddie patted his arm sympathetically for a moment before moving on. "Do you want the gifts on a gift table or shall we keep them in the bridal suite?"

"Is there space in the bridal suite?" Steve asked.

"Plenty."

"Put them in the bridal suite."

With that he dusted off his hands and followed Eddie inside to put out the next fire. It didn’t take him long to find it, because she quite literally bumped into him.

"Rach?"

She was slightly bleary eyed when she looked up at him, and it took a second for her brain to kick in and recognise him, but she beamed when she did.

"Stevie! Aloha!" 

She was swaying where she stood, and Steve suddenly understood why Grace had been hesitant with her phrasing.

"Whoa, someone started early. You okay?" He asked, concerned. 

"No one believes that I’m happy for you, but I am. Danny deserves to be loved too," she whined.

Steve chuckled to himself as she pouted. He had seen Grace do that look before, but he had never questioned where she learned it from.

"I believe you," Steve assured her.

She smiled, "You do?"

"Of course I do. And forget what everyone else here thinks, because you’re the most important person here," Steve said.

"I am?"

"Of course! You and Danny created two brilliant people together. Two kids that I adore more than life itself, and who Danny moved to Hawaii to be with. If had hadn’t followed you here, we wouldn't have met, and none of this would be happening."

The smile that grew across Rachel's face really shifted the way she was looking at things. While she was aware of the pain she had caused Danny, she never stopped to think what joys had come from that pain too. Their lives were so entwined she should never have expected one without the other.

"It wouldn't would it? And if you hadn't turned up on my doorstep to spy on my neighbours, I wouldn't have realised that I did still care about Danny, and Charlie wouldn't have been born," Rachel said.

"Exactly. So you and me, we're in this together. And I'm glad you’re here," Steve said earnestly.

Rachel chuckled, touched, and laid a hand against Steve's peck as she swayed. Steve's arms instinctively moved to each side of her to try and keep her upright. Another thing he wished he didn’t know Grace had inherited from her. Alcohol tolerance. 

"I'm glad my kids have another parent to love them," Rachel said honestly. 

"Then you might want to go and find Grace. Stella and Bridget went off with her somewhere to do her hair and make up," Steve warned.

Rachel's face suddenly fell as she straightened her back. "That's my job!"

She pushed past Steve without stopping to ask where the girls were getting ready, and instead went straight to the lifts. Steve watched her go. He wasn't sure why exactly, but he suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He put it down to nerves, but it didn’t settle.

"Is it just me or has Kono gone up a cup size or two?"

Steve rolled his eyes hard. He hadn’t even noticed Eric wandering over, but the moment he opened his mouth Steve knew exactly who was standing behind him. 

"Okay, listen to me, you ever make another comment about Kono's body _ever,_ and I'm gonna crack your head open on the singles table, got it?" He threatened.

Eric pursed his lips and nodded, "Loud and clear.

"Hey, so-" Chin began.

"I didn't say anything about Kono!" Eric yelped instantly. 

Chin, who hadn’t really noticed Eric was standing there, tilted his head at him. Eric's stomach hit his knees at the long lingering pause.

"Huh?" Chin asked. 

"Huh?" Eric repeated urgently.

Chin glanced at Steve for explanation. Steve decided to spare Eric, this time.

"Fo- forget him, get out of here, is everything ready?" Steve asked.

Eric hurried off as fast as he could get away from the situation. Chin watched him go for a moment before readjusting.

"Uh, the officiator is on his way but he says there’s traffic due to the landslide and the chances are he's not gonna make it on time," he said.

"Alright, someone needs to tell Danny," Steve sighed. 

"I'll do it," Chin nodded.

Steve patted his shoulder as he left, "Good man."

Steve had only been in the hotel for an hour and a half max at the moment, but he felt like there were fires springing up all over the place that he was running to put out before Danny could find out about them. Steve knew Danny's anxieties could easily cause him to spiral, and he didn't want anything to ruin today. 

Not even this lingering swirl of darkness that seemed to be insatiable in his stomach. No matter what Steve did to push down issues as they bobbed up, this uncertain sickness told him that something was wrong.

And he didn’t know how he ended up at the foot of the aisle staring down it long before the guests had all settled in, but he had. It stretched out before him, all the way across the long rectangular room. A narrow pathway lined with white painted wooden chairs, pale blue ribbons, and vases full of flowers. He didn't know exactly what he had been expecting but the realisation hit him like a frying pan.

"Wow. This is actually happening."

Steve had only meant to whisper it to himself but in his stunned reaction it slipped out at normal volume. Junior chuckled as he wandered closer, with Tani on his arm.

"Sure is," he said.

"Nervous boss man?" She teased. 

Steve's eyes didn't leave the alter at the end of the room. "Kind of."

"You and me faced down gunmen together sir, this is a cake walk," Junior assured him.

"Gunmen last a couple seconds, maybe a few hours max, but this, this is a life time," Steve said.

Tani squeezed his arm gently. "You're gonna do great."

Steve finally turned to look at her as he said, "I hope so."

His eyes widened at what he saw. Tani had found herself a long, sleek, floor length burgundy dress, with a slit almost up to her thigh. Her make up was done to match, and gave her a fiery look that suited her well. Even her hair had extra shine today, with its natural curls flowing around her bare shoulders.   
For a girl who usually wore khaki shirts and black jeans, she could really scrub up well.

"Wow!" Was all Steve could muster.

Tani laughed off a blush as she waved a hand through the air, "this is nothing, wait until our wedding, you won't even recognise me!"

"Whenever that might be," Steve teased. 

Despite getting engaged almost two years ago, Tani and Junior had yet to settle on a date for their wedding. In that time Chin had proposed and had the wedding, and now, so had Steve. 

Before Junior could retort in the way Tani had coached him too, Vito grabbed Steve by the wrist.

"Where are the cufflinks I left for you?" He demanded.

"Hello to you too Vito," Steve snatched his hand back.

"I dropped them off last night, where they at?" Vito demanded.

"I changed by mind about the tux, and my dress blues come with buttons," Steve shrugged. 

"Blues? These are black," Vito scoffed.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Steve said sarcastically. 

"It's just a name, they're called blue but they’re really black," Junior explained, helpfully.

Vito glared at him. "No shit Sherlock, they teach you that at the academy?"

Junior bowed his chin, "No, um, no sir."

Tani scowled, "Don't talk to him like that-"

Steve raised a hand to calm her, because he was keenly aware that if he didn’t, Vito would be leaving in an ambulance. 

"Tani, Tani, I got this," he assured. He turned to Vito, who was looking Tani up and down, sizing her up like he had any chance at beating her. "Vito, you can't talk to him like that. This kid served his country before joining Five-O, he did his bit and then some, he has done more to earn respect than you ever did, so show it to him, or I'll let him demonstrate some military interrogation techniques on you in front of your whole family, how about that?"

Vito knew that tone. He folded his arms across his chest, disappointed. "Bridge and Stella got to you already huh?"

Steve did all he could not to roll his eyes. "Show my family some respect please, that's all I ask."

Junior and Tani shared a look. The two of them enjoyed their running joke about Danny and Steve being their parents, but they never really considered the feeling going both ways before. 

"Fine. I'll see if Eric can go get the cuffs so I can get my money back," Vito huffed.

"You go do that," Steve said.

He pinched the bridge of his nose to try and quell the growing headache already forming within him. For all the grief he had given Danny over the years, he was finally beginning to see how well he managed his family. Steve was already losing the plot after two hours and Danny had been doing this for over forty years.

Steve looked up, and was surprised by the childish grins that greeted him.

"What?" He asked. 

"You really think of us as family?" Junior grinned hopefully. 

"No duh, can't you tell? I thought you were supposed to be detectives," Steve scoffed.

"We love you too dad," Tani teased.

Steve rolled his eyes but he couldn’t hold back the smile that broke through. He and Danny had always joked about having their work kids and having their home kids, but when that was reciprocated he couldn't help feeling warm instead. It even damped the darkness in his stomach. 

"Have either of you seen Danny today?" He asked.

"Not yet but we've been helping Kamekona set up outside," Junior said.

Steve frowned. "Outside? Why?"

"He's brought a barbecue," Junior said.

"Of course he has," Steve groaned. He should have known to not leave Kamekona supervised, but right now, he didn’t want to deal with it. "Y’know what as long as the hotel is cool with it, I don't care."

Tani and Junior shared a look.

"If they’re not?" Tani asked tentatively. 

Steve gave her a pointed look. "I'm sure they will be pursued to be."

"Got it."

Steve smiled to himself to look around the room. Grace was keeping her aunts busy, Eddie and Clara were greeting everyone, Eric was taking photos of everything and keeping Vito busy, Tani and Junior were watching Kamekona, Chin was sorting the officiator, and Adam and Kono were still here if anything else went wrong. 

Even better than that, his phone hadn't so much as beeped all day. HPD had the landslide under control. No big incident on Hawaii needed his urgent attention. Maybe, just maybe, today was going to be okay.

"Steve!" Joan giggled as she climbed onto his toes.

She balanced herself on his shoes like she had at Christmas when they heard danced playfully together. She had groan since then, but she was still light enough to dance with on his feet. She had also taken up ballet, so her dancing had improved too.

"You look so pretty Joan. You're like a princess," Steve said, affectionately. 

She gave him the biggest grin possible. Joan's white dress had a puffy tutu skirt, which was printed with blue petals that were supposed to be drifting down to the hem, which was tie dyed the same shade. She had a matching ribbon holding her hair up onto a Tinkerbelle bun. 

Steve felt a flush of disappointment that he had never seen Grace this age. She had arrived on the island already older than Joan was now, but not by much. It seemed that every time Steve blinked the children around him were older, and he had missed big parts of their childhood. 

That had always been a distinct possibility, even when Steve had still wanted kids of his own. With him and Catherine always away with the navy, they would have missed whole chunks of their kids lives.   
But Steve had been there for most of Grace's and practically all of Charlie's. Even Joan looked at him like she knew he'd always be there. 

So what if he'd missed parts of their life? He'd just have to make up for lost time with their grandchildren. 

"Everything alright Steve?" Mary asked.

Steve flashed her a smile as he nodded. The unsettled feeling in his gut called him a liar but he ignored it.

"Everything's going to plan."


	8. Chapter 8

The trouble with weddings is that there are just too many people and too many factors that needed to be managed to make it smooth. Chin had every intention of telling Danny that the officiator was going to be late, but on his way up he saw a shifty looking character glancing around the hotel and his instincts told him to follow. So the next person who went to find Danny was Eric. His arms were full of wedding presents as he tried to kick the door open with his foot.

"It's only me Uncle D- Dan- Danny!" He called.

He kept trying to correct himself on the nicknames. Uncle D just rolled off the tongue, but Danny kept scolding him in public for using it. It was a hard habit to break. 

"Someone's gotta tell Steve that he can't expect a photographer to carry all of the presents to the bridal suite too yknow. I'm supposed to be building a rapport, not lugging boxes about," Eric complained.

He dropped the gifts onto the floor by the built in wardrobe. There was a clatter as they hit the floor which concerned him. He didn't want them broken because that was going to get him into trouble. He stooped to his knees to neaten them up so no one would think he was being rough with breakables. Besides, he had more things to say.

"Noe called. The landslide is taking longer than they expected to clean up but there's no bodies so far so she's still gonna make it to the reception, which is the good bit anyway really, right?"

There was no response. When Eric turned around to look for Danny, he realised that he was still sat at the dresser with his head on the top of his arms. Eric's face fell.

"Uh, Uncle D? You good?"

"Uh, no," Danny said into the table. He turned his head to look at Eric, "No. I'm uh... I'm not, I'm not coming down."

Eric's chest tightened. "Uh... not gonna lie that wasn't what I was hoping to hear..."

"Eric go and tell everyone to go home, I'm gonna go out the fire exit, dont let them see me," Danny ordered.

Danny nodded firmly, but his eyes shone with surprise that he seemed to have decided to leave. Even he hadn't thought that he'd panic this late in the day. Eric noticed how quickly Danny leapt to his feet, and the way that his kept balling and unballing his fists anxiously. That felt far too familiar. 

"Whoa, whoa, wait- uncle D are you having a panic attack?" He asked.

"Can you blame me?! I'm about to be legally trapped with someone who can utterly crush me if anything goes wrong, and I'm claustrophobic!" Danny barked.

Eric frowned. "Okay you're definitely having a panic attack because that makes no sense."

"I can't make marriages work Eric, everyone I love leaves, and Steve doesn't have anyone, if this fails he'll be utterly crushed, you saw what Catherine did to him, he'll be devastated, I can't hurt him like that Eric, what do I do?" Danny asked desperately. 

Danny paced instead of looking at Eric. While he was talking, Eric popped a bottle of champagne and poured it into one of the coffee mugs that had been resting on a tray on the floor that came with the room. He pressed it into Danny's hand and sat him back in his chair.

"Drink."

Danny's hand was shaking and he couldn't bring himself to try picking up the mug so he sniped insisted. 

"I can't breathe, you want me to get drunk too?!" He snapped. 

Eric groaned as he glanced around the room. His eye fell on the ice bucket that the champagne had been resting in. "Fine, close your eyes and open your mouth."

"Eric, I'm not gonna fall-"

"Just do it!"

Danny groaned but he did as he was told because he wasn't sure what else to do. Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn't been the sudden burst of cold on his tongue. His eyes flew open in surprise as the chunk of ice hit his teeth. 

"Ewic whut dhe fumk?"

Eric grinned back at him. "Like it? Noelani taught me that trick. She said the shock to your nervous system resets it enough to distract you so you can breathe again. Is it working?"

"Um..." Danny frowned hard as paid attention to his chest. His heart had slowed enough for him to actually feel it beating again. "Yeah, I fink so. Why did Noelani need to teach yew fis? Are yew fill haffing panic attackff too?"

Eric smiled to himself as he swirled the champagne in the mug. Danny wasnt sure what to do with the ice in his mouth so he just spoke through it. It made him sound goofy and it warmed her. 

"They're getting better. Sleep helps, but so does Noelani. She's the only one who knows. Well her and you. And Jerry. He says ice is a good alternative to ice cream because the texture- y'know what, that doesn't matter right now, do you wanna talk about this?" 

"Abowt what?"

"About why you wanna climb out the fire escape."

"Owh. Dat."

Danny sighed. He sat down on the floor, leaning his back again the bed behind him, and took the ice cube out of his mouth. He dropped it into one of the cups on the tray by the dresser. Eric slumped down to sit beside him. He sipped champagne from the mug as he waited for his uncle to speak.

"Eric I can't let them down again," Danny sighed quietly.

"Who?" Eric asked.

"Grace. Charlie, Steve, too but mostly Grace."

"Grace is happy for the wedding Uncle Danny-"

"I know that's exactly the problem!"

Eric blinked. He was far too inexperienced in life to be able to offer a solution to that. Danny sighed again. It helped just to have someone to listen to him explain why his stomach felt like he'd swallowed a cannon ball.

"If somehow everything goes wrong again and I end up with another divorce to deal with, I feel like I'll be letting her down. Girlfriends come and go but... Marriage is so official. If I fail _again_ it's not just me that gets hurt, it's Grace and Charlie. It's _Steve._ He's already been hurt so many times I can't bare the idea of adding to it."

There was another long pause as Danny sighed and Eric nodded along thoughtfully. 

"Huh."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"It's nothing, not really, I just... It's nice to know I'm not the only one who's afraid of letting down the family," Eric admitted.

It felt a little mean to admit it, but it made Eric feel warm inside to hear that someone else in the family felt like a disappointment too. At least it wasnt just him. Danny nudged him with his knee.

"You haven't let down the family Eric," he said earnestly.

"Neither have you, and you're still worrying about it. And no one ever had to bail you out of jail," Eric smirked.

Danny pursed his lips and hummed dubiously. When Eric stared at him, Danny gave him a sheepish look, and Eric lit up.

"No?!" He gasped, grinning.

"That was different, it was for a case, I had immunity," Danny said.

"My uncle the criminal! My _other_ uncle the criminal. My _other_ other criminal- why did you become a cop, just to arrest us?" Eric snorted as he mentally riffled through his family members who someone who didnt commit crimes. 

Danny snorted at the idea, "Yes, that's exactly why. You're a moron yknow that?" 

"Even a moron like me knows you aren't going to let anyone down if things go south with Steve. Not that I think they will go south. I've seen the way you two behave, I'm not sure you know how to survive without each other... I know I'm only a kid to you, you still think I'm like twelve years old-"

"Seventeen. You went up when you started your own business and started acting like you were responsible for your own actions," Danny interrupted.

"Huh. Cool," Eric grinned proudly, "As I was saying, I know I'm only a kid to you and you know more than I do, but I don't think I've seen anyone more in love than you and Steve. I don't think there's anything you two could go through that you wouldn't come out of stronger. But that's just me," Eric shrugged as he finished to lift any responsibility that might follow him from this. 

Danny tilted his head as he twisted the engagement ring on his finger. As much as it helped to cling to what he knew and the traditions he grew up with, not being able to see Steve was making his chest hurt.

"Do you think seeing each other before the wedding is bad luck?" He asked.

"I have no idea. I do know that if you go down the fire escape you don't get to keep the presents though," Eric warned.

Danny laughed breezily at Eric. He should have guessed that the presents would have been more of a priority for him. Danny thought back to something he had heard at Christmas once.

"Family isn't for material gain."

"Can I have those presents then?" Eric asked.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Can you find my kids for me please? And ask ma and pop to carry the presents up here."

"Course."

"Tell them to gps tag them too, just in case you or Vito get any ideas."

Eric scoffed, "what'd you take me for?"

Eric pushed himself to his feet and turned to offer Danny a hand up after him. Begrudgingly, Danny took it. Eric left the room, and Danny looked at his reflection in the mirror. His suit had crumpled where he sat on the floor. He was smoothing it out when Grace stepped through the door.

"Danno?"

"Gracie... You look..."

Her bridesmaids dress was pale blue, with lace across the bodice, a scooped neckline, and a ribbon tucked across her waist. It tumbled loose and flowing down to her knees. The necklace she had chosen to wear today was a little silver heart shaped locket, which Danny had brought her for a late Christmas present after their impromptu trip to Japan. 

Grace looked beautiful from the neck down at least.

From the neck up was a different story.

She had managed to get her aunts to forgo the fake tan and heavy foundation by pointing out that this was a wedding, and she might cry and ruin their work. They had reluctantly settled for eyeliner and lipgloss instead. The lipgloss sparkled because it was Stella's and everything Stella had sparkled. Even the hairclips she had forced into Grace's hair.

Between the gaudy clips and the uneven strands hooped against her scalp, it looked like a birds nest. But it distracted him from his worry.

"Your aunts got you huh?" He said, sympathetically. 

Grace stepped forward in her new heels and stumbled. She smoothed her skirt and huffed a stray strand of hair out of her face. Danny vaugely recalled the day Clara had whisked Grace off to a salon where they had gotten make overs together. Back then the eye shadow and eyeliner had felt too much.  
Those seemed like such simpler times.

"Eric said you were looking for me," she huffed.

Danny's eyes kept glancing back to her hair as he struggling to hold in a smirk. "Do you want me to fix it?"

Her shoulders sagged in relief, "Please."

Danny chuckled to himself as he pulled the chair out from under the dresser and dusted it off for her. Grace bounced over to sit down. Steve - and the rest of the team really - teased him for how much effort he put into his hair, but Grace never did. Since the moment she was had hair long enough to style, Danny had been doing so. Even before that he would build her a foam wig with her bubble bath and style that. She trusted his skills and he was incredibly proud that she did.

"Who were you saving this time?" He asked. 

She licked her lips carefully as she said, "What makes you think I was saving anyone?" 

"Because I've told you a dozen times to not let your aunts do your hair for you - you're probably flammable now with all this spray. But you've got a good heart," Danny said, warmly.

He was as gentle as he could be while teasing the clips out of Grace's hair but they were cheap little things. She winced as he tugged her scalp with it.

"Sorry monkey. Besides, Rach was supposed to do your hair today. You wouldn't voluntarily give that up for Stella," Danny said.

He glanced at her reflection and watched the way she tried to hold onto her secret, and how it melted through her, until her shoulders sagged guiltily.

"It was Steveo," she muttered.

Danny's hand paused in surprise. "Oh. I was hoping they wouldnt find him until I was there to protect him."

"He did well. They kept telling me they we're pleased that you've found someone to keep you in your place," she assured him.

Danny scowled, "In _my_ place?! That man has no self control, _I'm_ his self control, and they think he can keep me in my place?!"

Grace giggled as Danny's jaw opened and shut bitterly. She watched him in the mirror as he eased the hair out of the hairbands it had been tangled into. As he brushed it back out, loose and free, the glitter caught in it sparkled. Brushing out the dry hairspray was slightly harder, but at least the glitter was falling away. Her eye fell on his collar.

"Do you actually know how to do a tie?" She quipped.

"You gonna fix it for me?" He challenged.

"Stand here so I can reach."

Grace tapped the wood of the desk to tell Danny to sit. He chuckled, but he sat in front of her anyway. Her tongue peeked out of the corner of her mouth as she wrapped his tie around his neck again. That habit had never left her. Even when she was three she poked out her tongue when she focused on her drawing. She could be a fully grown woman and he would still only see the little girl he had carried out of the ice cream shop because she fell asleep during her sundae. 

He loved her so much it hurt. 

"Where's Charlie?" He asked.

Grace shrugged, "Last time I saw him he was with Steveo. You okay danno?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just..." Danny trailed off. He didn't want to worry her. 

"Danno, remember when I said we needed to talk more and you agreed? That goes both ways. What's bothering you?" Grace asked earnestly.

Danny didn't want to worry her, but he still remembered the conversation she was talking about. A heavy layer of guilt rested on his shoulders to think of it. Grace had told him in no uncertain terms that his actions as a father and as a police officer always affected her. They just did. Leaving her out of the loop to stop her worrying just made her feel insecure and made it worse. 

It felt wrong to open up to her, but at the same time, he felt he had to.

"I have this feeling in the pit of my something that something's wrong, but it'll go away when I see Charlie and I know hes okay," Danny insisted.

"So let's go find Charlie," Grace said, jumping to her feet.

"How many people are here, will there be a chance Steve will see me?" Danny asked.

Grace glanced around. She spotted the walkie-talkie she had brought in left on the floor, and grabbed it. Danny hadn't even bothered to turn it on.

"Uncle Chin, come in Uncle Chin," Grace said.

There was static at the other end of the line. No reply came at all. Grace frowned.

"That's weird. Maybe he's just put the radio down somewhere, let me try Uncle Jerry," she said.

"Why does Jerry have a walkie-talkie?" Danny asked.

"Because Uncle Jerry is my coordinator. He's been so helpful they've already asked for his card so he can come back for the next wedding," Grace chuckled.

In his need to help, Jerry hadn't stopped working. After he set up the chairs and placed the vases strategically to prevent them blocking peoples view, and helped carry the cake in, and fetched some extra ice from the machine to keep the bar in full stock, it had just become one thing after another. He didn't stop, and he enjoyed it. As far as Grace was concerned, she and Steve had the family covered, and Jerry was in control of staff issues.

"Uncle Jerry, come in Uncle Jerry," she called.

"You're supposed to say _over,_ over," Jerry said.

Even in the crackle of the radio they could hear his impaitent expression in his words. He hated dealing with amateurs. Danny rolled his eyes.

"You got eyes on Steveo, _over?"_ Grace said, pointedly. 

"Affirmative, he's in the main hall, over."

"Awesome, is Charlie with him, over?"

"Negative, I saw him near catering around fifteen minutes ago, that's 1-5 minutes ago, over."

"So Charlie's not in the main hall? Where else would he go?" Danny frowned. 

"He might be showing off to Joan. He's learned to dive now, maybe they're in the pool," Grace said. She pressed the button, "Is Joan in view?"

"Negative."

The nervous sensation that something was wrong was beginning to wander forward from the back of his mind. 

"Charlie tends to follow food... Maybe he's with Kamekona? Or mom. She brings snacks everywhere. Uncle Jerry do you see mom over?" Grace asked.

There was a short pause while he checked.

"Negative, she's been gone a while too, over."

A new voice broke in over their conversation. "Gracie your mom said she was going to come look for you, she didn't know what room you're in though and she's slightly drunk, she's probably still in the elevator."

Danny's heart beat harder to hear Steve's voice. Of course he had remembered to turn the radio on and keep it near him at all times. He just had to be involved, controlling things. Danny couldn't tell if it helped ease the fire in his mind to hear him or made it worse. 

"Steveo that message wasn"t for you!" Grace hissed.

"Then switch to another frequency!" Steve replied plainly.

"Copy, switching to frequency five, over," Jerry said. 

Grace groaned as she suddenly lost contact with the main point of communication she had been relying on.

"Men! Useless!" She huffed.

Danny perked up to hear her lament. He didn't care if she hated everyone his gender if it meant he would never have to give her away on her wedding day. 

"Never stop believing that," he urged, firmly.

She ignored him. "Steve's in the main hall, so if we avoid that area and head for the kitchen, maybe the staff will have seen Charlie."

Danny smiled at how quickly and stubbornly she drew conclusions and gave out orders. It felt very familiar. 

"I know you want to be a marine biologist-" he began.

"Danno." She warned impatiently. 

"I'm just saying you have such a talent for Detective work!" He insisted.

She rolled her eyes, but they sparkled with pleasure at the praise. She opened the door and pointed for him to leave.

"Go!"

Danny didnt have time to even reach the door before Eddie appeared in the doorway. He had Rachel hauled up against him in a firemans lift. Even now he had retired he could still carry her with ease. 

"Heya Gracie, we found your mom in the hallway, is it okay if she sleeps it off in here?" He said.

Grace's smile fell as she watched her grandfather drop her mother onto her fathers bridal bed.

"The ceremony hasn't even started yet," she sighed.

Clara followed them in, her arms filled with gift bags, and her expression apologetic. 

"I think this may have been my fault. I said she was far braver than me to come here today. Maybe I just shouldnt have said anything," she said.

"No, this is pretty much what I did on her wedding day. I was kind if expecting it," Danny admitted.

It didn't fill him with the satisfaction he had secretly been hoping for. To see Rachel fall apart on his wedding day, like he had at hers. The truth of it was he still cared too much about her to enjoy her looking foolish. And he had been there. He understood it now, from both sides. The empathy stopped him from feeling any satisfaction at all.

"She can stay in here, but maybe turn her head to the side so she doesnt choke on her tongue," Danny said

"Where are you two off to?" Clara asked.

"To find Charlie, you haven't seen him have you?" Danny asked.

"Last I saw he was practicing walking with Joan - she is such a pretty little girl!" Clara cooed.

"Will you watch Rach while we go look? I'd hate for her to wake up alone in a bridal suite today," Danny said.

"Of course. I'll stay here, you keep bringing up the presents," Clara said to Eddie.

Eddie huffed indignantly. "You two are aware there are actual paid staff working today too right?"

"They're focusing on the important things, this is a family matter," Clara countered firmly.

"Thanks ma," Danny smiled.

She nodded. Her eyes were shining with the same affection today that they had at his last wedding. Apparently youre never too old to be musty eyed about your child growing up.

Adam let out a long drawn out sigh like he was letting lose something he just couldn't keep in. Steve laid a hand on his shoulder when he heard it.

"You alright man? You sound as nervous as me," he said.

"I'm, I'm good, I'm good, thanks," Adam smiled weakly. 

"You sure? Yknow you can talk to me about anything right, it doesn't matter what day it is," Steve said.

Adam glanced at him. Steve wouldn't lie to him about anything anymore. After everything the two of them had been through, all the miscommunications and overreactions, it was just easier to be straight with one another. Or, at least, to bend truths a little.

"I... I was just in the bathroom with Kono-" Adam began.

"Aw c'mon you guys, this is a public place! You're cops! You oughta arrest yourselves for public indecency!" Steve groaned. 

Adam's ears turned pink as he shook his head, "No, no, not like that! She needed someone to hold her skirt. Those dresses, they look gorgeous but there's so much fabric, it's impractical."

Steve frowned. "Then why wear them? They're not comfortable, they're not practical, why bother? For attention? And it works? Are we men really that pathetic?"

"Uh..."

"I'm sorry, I derailed you, go on."

Adam wasn't entirely sure what he could tell Steve. Kono had made him promise to keep something big secret and it was all he could do to hold it in as he watched her sprinkle petals over Joan as she twirled to show off her dress.

"How'd you know it had to be Danny?" Adam asked.

"Because I love him," Steve shrugged.

"Is it that easy?"

"No."

That came out a little harsher than Steve meant it too, and it took Adam by surprise. Steve laughed it off with a shake of his head.

"No, loving Danny isn't easy. Sometimes I wanted to shoot him. Just planning this made me want to shoot him about thirty times. But I don't know what I'd do without him. He makes things easier. Like, this one time-"

...

_Wo Fat sneered through his scars. He had his prey trapped and handcuffed to the ceiling. Steve's arms were pinned by his ears and his ankles shackled to the ground. There was no escaping this time._

_His one good eye gleamed as he handed the knife to Doris. She took it without hesitation. She drew herself to her full height, her back straight, and her neck high._

_Doris leaned closer to his chest. Steve could feel her hand balancing her weight against him so she could match his height. Dangling from the ceiling gave him an extra inch she needed to go on her toes to match. Steve's vision was blurred by the trail of blood trickling down from his head, but he could see her._

_He could feel the tender touch of her hand as it ran across his cheek. His stomach heaved at the sensation of her tucking his hair behind his ear._   
_The cold blade of the steel against his burning skin made his heart race. Steve knew the calm in her posture was fake, but the knife was not._

_"I'm sorry baby," she whispered, "but there can only be one."_

_She pulled away to look into his eyes. Hers were cold. Distant. She had already detached herself from him. The choice had been made. She chose Wo Fat._   
_Steve cried out as he fell to his knees. His chest was blazing in agony as the knife pierced through him. He crumbled to the floor, and felt the heavy shackles around his wrists hold him down. Wo Fat's dark chuckle filled the room as Steve's own blood pooled around him._

_A hand pushed him down onto his back. Onto the cold concrete floor of this cell. He watched helplessly as Doris wrapped an arm around Wo Fat's waist._

_"We need to get out of here son."_

_Steve felt another white hot stab to his chest as he watched his mother hurry Wo Fat out of the room. His dark laughter echoed onwards as Steve laid across the floor. Steve felt like he was drowning. He gasped for air that never came. The blood kept spilling as he laid on the cold hard floor._

_Chained and beaten. Lost. Unloved. Betrayed._

_Alone..._

_"Steve?"_

_Danny's voice was a distant whisper. Steve almost didnt hear it._

_"Steveo, c'mon, wake up babe."_

_His voice was a little louder. To hear it kicked Steve's heart back into action._

_"Danny?"_

_It hurt to speak, like fire across his entire nervous system, but he needed it. He needed to be heard. He needed to not be alone._

_"Wake up."_

_He was coming closer, but Steve couldn't see him. He couldn't find him. Panic set in as his chest burned and he wanted to cry. The stinging of the salt was like another fire in his wounds. Suddenly someone grabbed him, and yanked him down, down, down into the bloody depths below._

_Steve bolted upright with a yelp._

_Danny instantly latched onto him, running a hand across his shoudler blades and hushing him as he hyperventilated._

_"Hey, hey, shh, it's okay, it's okay. I'm right here, you're okay. We're home. We're safe. Just shh."_

_"Danno?"_

_"You were twitching in your sleep. Bad dream?"_

_Steve's eyes were wide as he searched the darkness for his partner. Danny could see the tears shining at the corners of them._

_Even in the low light slipping through the closed blinds Danny could see the fear in Steve. It struck him to his core every time he saw it. Steve wasn't meant to be afraid. Danny hated to see it. His heart went out to the poor man as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders._

_At the sense of Dannys touch against his bare flesh, Steve threw himself against his chest. He wrapped his arms around Danny's middle, clinging onto him like he might vanish if he let go._

_Danny's heart broke at how desperate Steve was for comfort. He pushed through the thoughts quietly wondering when the last time anyone had soothed Steve's fears with hugs and tenderness because thinking about that hurt._

_Danny wrapped his arms around Steve's shoulders, holding him tightly as he rocked him gently._

_"Shh, shh, it's okay. You're home. You're safe. We're all safe."_

_He pressed a kiss into Steve's head as he ran a finger across his hair. Steve clung onto him still. His chest heaved as he tried to hold in the sobs. Danny felt his shoulder growing damp where Steve was buried against him._

_As bad as it sounded, Danny was always slightly glad to see him cry. Steve despised vulnerability. He feared it. But he had grown comfortable enough to cry in front of Danny. It made him human._

_Funerals never meant very much to Steve. He had been to too many. Some were for people he loved, and some he was just there for moral support. Over the years they had become less prominent to him. Even Joe's moved too fast, and he spent too much time planning his revenge to notice._

_But they weighed on him._

_They all weighed on him._

_Whenever he cried - as rare as that was - it let some of that out. He let the weight shift so Danny could help him carry it. Danny was grateful to take it. With the weight of everything Steve couldn't tell him, Danny would grab onto anything he could._

_Except, hopefully this could wait until it wasn't three am and they didn't have a meeting with Charlie's teacher in the morning._

_"Wanna talk about it?" He asked quietly._

_Steve sniffed hard and shook his head. He didn't want to relive anything. He didn't want to say the words "my mother chose the man who killed my father over me". It didn't need to be heard._

_"Lie down with me babe. Nice and easy," Danny muttered, holding in a yawn._

_Steve moved to lie back down beside Danny. Danny eased him onto his side so he could wrap his arms around him easier. Steve sighed quietly as his head hit the pillow. Danny's arms wrapped around his middle to tug him closer until his stomach was pressed against Steve's lower back._

_Being the smaller spoon was safe and protected, even if the big spoon was actually a lot shorter than him. But Danny could be vicious and scary when he was protective. It was those thoughts Steve held onto now, letting his nightmare fade away into nothing._

_Steve smiled as he felt Danny's lips against his bare shoulder. The way he gently kissed along his shoulder blades eased Steve's chest. The tight ball he woke up with made it hard to breath. With Danny there, that ball vanished. Danny's head nuzzle against his back. His breath was hot against his bare skin, but it meant he was close. That was all Steve wanted._

_Steve's hand trailed along Danny's arm, stroking him gently. It was easier to close his eyes again, knowing he wasn't alone anymore_. 

...

"I'm a lot less scared when Danny's around. I know I like to pretend I'm never scared, but it's just not true. A lot of the time, I'm terrified, but my training means I can handle it. But when I met Danny, it stopped being so scary, because I knew he was always gonna have my back. He was always gonna be there. And he was. He still is. It's like... no matter what dangers are coming my way, I can face all of them as long as Danny's with me."

Adam nodded along quietly. He watched Kono as her smile filled her face like sunshine on the ocean. Joan was giggling brightly as she and Kono practiced sprinkling the petals from her little wicker basket. Adam's heart melted in his chest as the smile grew on his face. Kono adored children. Even after all the sorrow and pain she'd seen, she was still full of love for the children around her. And for him. 

If she could go through everything that she found so hard to talk about, and still dance so joyfully with Joan, so fearlessly, so could he. The fearless bit anyway. 

"That's how I feel about Kono," Adam said.

Steve chuckled, "I know. I can see it when you two are together."

"Can I tell you something?" Adam asked.

Steve nodded, "Of course man, anything."

"We're about to, uh... well, we're about to start this... let's say project-" Adam began.

"Is it safe? You're not going on another task force are you?" Steve asked, concerned. 

"No, no, nothing like that, but... well it's the scariest thing I've ever faced, and I..." Adam sighed and bowed his head, "I'm terrified I'm gonna mess up."

"If you're nervous about a big change that makes sense," Steve assured him, calmly, "But if you wanna back out-"

"I don't," Adam said firmly. That wasn't even a consideration. "And I dont think thats possible."

Steve smiled to himself. Where Kono was concerned, Adam wasn't one to back down. Anything she wanted, he was helpless to refuse. Always had been. Even if it lead to them drifting apart. 

"Then you should talk to Kono. I bet shes just as scared as you are," Steve said.

"You really think anything can scare her?" Adam asked. 

Kono threw her head back and laughed brightly as Joan climbed on a chair to throw petals around her like confetti. Steve smiled. He had seen her shoot men dead with expert precision and take on men twice her size in hand to hand combat and win. She had taken on the ocean alone and survived, sunstroke and exhaustion be damned. He honestly couldn't imagine her afraid.

"I doubt it. But for what it's worth, I've seen you two together and I've seen you apart, and I've seen both of you fight for what you believe in and to be together and usually come out on top. Whatever this project is, you guys are gonna be awesome."

Adam smiled in agreement as his chest settled slightly. He couldn't escape his nerves, but he could set them aside for a while.

"Thanks Steve."

"Any time brother."

Grace hurried over to Steve once she laid eyes on him, but she kept glancing about. She looked like a nervous fawn pacing through the forest. Adam flashed her a reassuring smile, but she didn't reciprocate.

"Um, have either of you seen Charlie?" She asked nervous 

"Not for a while," Steve said thoughtfully. He frowned as Grace whined softly, "is everything okay?"

"Um... we, uh, we can't seem to find him... anywhere," she explained, wringing her wrists as she did.

The dark feeling in Steve's stomach twisted as his eyes widened fearfully. 

"Charlie's missing?" He repeated darkly.

"He's probably gone exploring the hotel, let's not jump to conclusions," Adam insisted. 

It was too late. The worse case situations were already whirling through Steve's mind as his stomach twisted and he struggled to keep ahold of his breath. He struggled to force himself back into a commanding mindset, but as soon as it clicked, it took over.

"Right. Right, yeah, probably. Gather up Five-O and let's get this sorted," he ordered. 

"We can't find Uncle Chin either," Grace said nervously.

"Any chance they're somewhere together?" Adam asked.

"If Chin saw something happen to Charlie he wouldn't hesitate to follow. They could both be in danger," Steve warned.

"We have to find them!" Grace cried.

"Shh, shh, We can't worry anyone," Adam hushed gently.

He reached over to subtly hug her to him. She clung against him anxiously. Her heart was going like a frate train. Grace knew what it was like to be held captive by someone with a grudge against her father, and she never wanted Charlie to go through it. Usually Steve would have noticed that, but his mind was elsewhere, so Adam kept his hand on her shoulders to ease her panic.

"Adam's right. No one can know until we're sure somethings wrong and theyre not just, I dunno, locked out on the roof or something," Steve said.

"I didn't check the roof," Grace whispered.

She stared up at Adam desperately as she did. He reassured her with a gentle squeeze to let her know it was okay. 

"Gather Five-O," Steve ordered.

"But you can't see Danno, how will that work?" Grace asked.

"Danny can't know either, I don't want him panicking, he doesn't know does he?" Steve demanded. 

"Not yet, but he's looking for him already, it won't be easy to distract him," Grace said.

"We'll figure something out. We're going to need everyone though. You get Eric and Jerry, you get Kono, and I'll find Junior and Tani, remember, under wraps!" Steve ordered.

Instantly Adam and Grace hurried off to their missions. They kept themselves as calm as they could, but a missing child was not something to take lightly. Especially not on a day like today. All they could do was hope Chin was there to help protect him until they could get there.

If he was with him at all that is.


	9. Chapter 9

Steve ushered Tani and Junior through the door into the privacy of his hotel room where Kono, Adam, Lou, Jerry, Eric and Grace were already waiting for them to join. They crammed into the room as Steve glanced around the corridor. It was empty as he shut the door.

"Alright, I'm sure Danny hasn't remembered to turn on his radio, but just in case, I wanted to talk to all of you face to face. This way it avoids the other guests worrying," Steve explained to the group.

"What’s going on sir?" Junior asked.

"What’s that smell?" Tani wrinkled her nose.

"It's my uh, my perfume," Kono lied.

"Very minty Kono," Tani said.

Eric raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He was quietly piecing together a puzzle that he hadn't seen since New Jersey. If he was wrong he would look foolish, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Eric I need you to distract Danny. Tell him you need to find the best photography spots or something, keep him out of the way while the rest of us search the hotel," Steve ordered.

"You kidding? You think uncle D will be distracted from his son being missing because I wanna check my white balance?!" Eric scoffed.

"Wait, Charlie's missing?!" Tani and Kono gasped in chorus. 

"Don't be difficult, make it work. Take Vito with you if you must," Steve ordered.

"I don't think it'll work," Eric warned.

 _"Make it work_!" The rest of the room barked.

Eric ducked for cover so far he practically fell to floor. He had to dust himself off as he stood back up. "Okay, jeez, alright, I'll make it work, damn."

"How long has he been missing?" Lou asked. 

"The last confirmed sighting I can find so far is about an hour ago," Steve said.

"One hour, he couldn’t have gotten far," Lou said.

"Not on foot, but if - God forbid - someone took him-" Tani began.

"Do we have any reason to suspect that as a possibility?" Junior asked. 

"We're not sure, Chin has also been missing for roughly the same amount of time, there's a chance they're both together, but-" Steve began.

"No, I saw Chin heading towards the pool about forty five minutes ago, Charlie wasn't with him," Kono said.

"That gives fifteen minutes for someone to lead Charlie away, if Chin witnessed that he'd follow," Steve said.

"But he'd leave a signal. He had a radio and his phone on him, he would have messaged one of us," Kono said.

"I'll ping his phone," Tani declared. 

She whipped her phone out of her bra and began to dial. Not for the first time, Eric wondered why women felt the need to carry things in their bras when they spent so much money on bags. If he ever got up the guts to ask, the answer was pretty simple. 

"Have you checked with the valet to see if anyone's cars have been checked out around the time of the incident?" Lou asked.

"No, good call, that's your priority," Steve ordered. 

"Done," Lou nodded, "Uh, I know it's your call as a parent now, but you should know that when Renee found out what Samantha had been through and that I hadn't told her about it, she was furious."

Steve frowned as he failed to see the point that Lou was trying to make. Out of everyone in the room, the only one who seemed to understand instead was Adam. Steve put his hands on his hips and shrugged.

"So what?" He asked with an impatient sigh.

"Danny's gonna be pissed if he finds out Charlie was in danger and you kept it from him," Adam translated. 

Lou raised a hand to gesture to Adam and nodded, approving of his translation. 

"Danny's feeling superstitious about the wedding, if he gets a sense that something is wrong he might call the whole thing off. This has to be done quietly, with minimal people finding out okay? Especially not Clara," Steve said firmly. 

"Grandma would scream from the rooftops if she found out," Grace agreed.

"Probably start throwing things across the room until she got a gun and held us all to ransom until Charlie came back," Eric said.

"That's a little over dramatic-" Tani began.

"No, I wouldn't put that past her, when the heat is on she's as scary as Danny," Steve said.

"That woman's got scary good aim too," Lou said.

"I bet I'm still better," Kono muttered.

"No doubt, but you're not driven by getting your family back," Junior pointed out.

"Fair point," Kono allowed.

Any other time Grace would have been fascinated to see the way that Five-O worked as a force. Any time she had needed them they were there to rescue her of course, but she had never been on this side of the glass before. Right now, however, her mind was on her brother.

"Focus up guys because this one needs to be wrapped up before the ceremony can begin," Steve warned.

"Sounds familiar," Adam muttered to Kono.

"We have a deadline of- Jerry what time is it?" Steve asked.

"We've got forty minutes before the ceremony is due to begin," Jerry said.

"Then we need to find Charlie within the next forty minutes, and we can never mention any of this to Danny, everyone understood?" Steve ordered. 

There was a murmuring of confirmation which usually signalled the end of conversation, but Grace interrupted it.

"Wait, no, Chin's got the rings. We need to find him too or you won't be able to get married, you need the rings," she said.

"We got engaged without rings, we can get married without them," Steve shrugged.

"Actually it's a key part of the ceremony, binding-" Jerry began. 

"Alright fine, _Charlie_ is the priority, but keep an eye out for Chin and keep your radios on the second frequency so Danny doesn't hear us. Phones on too, everyone understood now?" Steve said.

"Can we not get through one major event without an emergency situation? Just one?" Lou grumbled.

"This is more fun," Junior grinned.

"Lou, you’re on valet, Eric Danny, Kono check the pool for Chin, Adam floor one, Junior floor two, I'll take four, whoever finishes first check the roof. Jerry, I need you to co-ordinate with the staff and get a description of Charlie going round so they know to look out for the kid, check Kamekona's areas too just in case Charlie's found his way out to him, and Gracie?"

Grace blinked in surprise. She had never seen the kind of single minded focus in his eyes like this before. She had never seen the way Steve took control of an emergency. 

Logically she knew he did. He was in charge of Five-O after all, a founder of it. But whenever any emergencies fell in a way that included her, Danny was in control. Steve always took a backseat to him, or took over the rest of the situation so Danny could focus on her. More often than not she was ushered away to Rachel or Kamekona or once, Max. 

Max had done the best job he could, making sure she got home safely from school, staying with her until her mother arrived, and doing his best to keep conversation light despite the fact she had just witnessed her father being arrested for a murder that he would be shipped to another country to be punished for. However he was not as reassuring as he tried to be. It wasn't his fault, he just didn't have the same knack that Steve did. When Steve hugged her as tightly as he did, she knew he wasn’t going to stop at anything until Danny came home, and that he wasn't going anywhere until he did.

That was the exact moment that, in her mind at least, Uncle Steve had become her Steveo. 

"Yeah Steveo?" She choked.

His gaze softened, "Gracie are you alright? You’re not too freaked out? I know old scars-"

"I'm alright Steveo. I just want to find Charlie," she said firmly.

He smiled. There was pride in his eyes. "Good girl. Can you check Danno's room for me? I can't run the risk of bumping into him."

"Sure."

"Alright, move out!"

They trailed out of that room with the determination to succeed visible in all of them. It was luck more than judgement that Danny didn't see them do so, because if he had, he would known in an instant that something was wrong. 

Eric quickly reached the bar area while searching for Danny, and while he didn’t find him, he did find Vito. Eric clenched his jaw furiously. 

There were three things that the doctor had asked Vito to do after his heart attack landed him in hospital. One, reduce his fatty foods or maybe increase his exercise, preferably both. Two, definitely reduce his drinking. If his heart didn’t get him again, his liver would. Thirdly, and most important, give up the cigars altogether. They smelt bad, they clogged his arteries, and they were destroying his lungs.

So when Eric - a doctor, maybe not medically, but far more educated in what causes death than Vito was - found him knocking back a glass of whiskey while sniffing his fresh new cigar, it made his blood boil. He did the only thing he could think to do and snapped a photo, with the flash on bright. 

"Oh this is - this is gorgeous! Look at this, this captures your soul! This is it. This is the one. This is the photo we use at your funeral," he said, sarcastically as he leaned on the bar beside him. 

"What’s the matter with you, going round talking about funerals on a day like today?! This is supposed to be a happy occasion, ya grim reaper!" Vito growled back.

"How many happy occasions call for a glass of whiskey and a cigar these days Vito?" Eric demanded. 

"As many as I want," Vito snarled.

"You had a heart attack-"

"Would you quit going on about that-"

"You’ve made no changes to the way you live-"

"It's a big fuss over nothing!"

"And if you carry on like this you will have another heart attack, it will be bigger than before, and you will die."

Vito twisted on his stool to turn and glare at Eric, chewing as he did. Despite the initial inbuilt instinct to fall back under his glare, Eric stood his ground. Vito was to old and tired to fight him anymore.

"You’re a real ray of sunshine y’know that?" 

"I just don’t want the next family gathering to be your funeral," Eric said, earnestly.

Vito scoffed and let out a chuckle, "Relax, I ain't going anywhere anytime soon. I’m just enjoying the ride." 

"Enjoying the ride huh?" Eric scorned, "You're so tan I'm sure there's someone who thinks a Turkey escaped the kitchen-"

"Alright, lay off Eric. You're not a real doctor y’know," Vito huffed.

"I’ve solved enough murders to know a dead man when I see one," Eric said darkly.

Vito glared at him again. To see him and Eric locking eyes like stags locking antlers made Clara's chest fall. She hated when they argued. Especially since Eric was just trying to do what was right. Before she could move to interrupt them, she saw Danny notice the same thing. His shoulders fell. She watched him tug his jacket smooth, and head over to interrupt.   
Clara's heart went out to her son. Even on a day like this he was always the family peace keeper. 

"What are you two bickering about now?" He demanded. 

"Uh..." 

Eric blinked in alarm. He had quite forgotten that he was supposed to be asking Vito to help him distract Danny, and now he couldn’t. 

"Well this one thinks I’m about to drop down dead because I’ve had a drink," Vito huffed.

"That’s stupid, Eric don't be stupid," Danny said plainly.

"Thank you!" Vito smirked smugly. 

"It's the cigar that's going to kill him," Danny corrected.

It took him a moment to react to his uncle's support but once it clicked Eric smiled. Vito glanced between the two of them, and rolled his eyes. 

"You two are out of your minds."

"Actually no, no we're not, we work discovering why people are dead, that's our jobs-" Danny began.

"No, that's his job," Vito pointed between the two of them, straight at Max. "Yous two just gotta work out who did the dirty."

"Yeah? Hey Max? Max, come over here for a second," Danny called.

Max looked up in surprise and wandered over. He had dug out his old white jacket to contrast it with his entirely black outfit underneath. Sabrina didn't like him wearing it, but she wasn't there to stop him today. 

"Aloha Danny, Eric. I’m glad I made it in time, the traffic caused by that landslide has an awfully long tailback," he said.

"The landslide..." Eric whispered to himself. 

"What?" Danny asked.

"Nothing."

Eric's hand snatched up his phone and texted an update to Steve. A little reminder that since the landslide was causing traffic if anyone left with Charlie in a car then they wouldn't get far and the chances were there was an alternative mode of transportation to look out for. 

_I can check outside if no one is available_

**No, I need you there. Five-O got this, you to keep taking photos and keeping people talking so they don’t notice okay?**

_Roger, remember to check cctv_

**its not my first day as a cop Eric**

Eric flicked the circular switch on his camera on and off nervously. Mentally he was still trying to place when the last time he saw Charlie was and where he was heading. He was so preoccupied he missed half of Max's in depth explanation of heart attacks.

"Stress can be a factor due to the increased blood flow due to excess adrenaline, which places additional strain on your heart."

Max was never happier than when he could share his wealth of knowledge. They could see it in his eyes. They took on a particular shine when he was teaching others what he had learned, whether they liked it or not.

"Like the stress this lecture is putting on me now?" Vito asked drily. 

"Thanks Max," Danny said, resting a hand on his shoulder to silently tell him his time was up, "very insightful."

Max's nonverbal cue recognition had improved greatly since he had returned to working on living people, and he was keen to show the others how he had changed while he was away. While he recognised that Danny wanted him to go, he hesitated. 

"Congratulations again Detective Williams. May I ask before I go, will you be remaining Williams or will you take McGarrett's name?" He asked curiously. 

Danny opened his mouth to answer and nothing came out. Eric and Vito both watched him, expectantly. 

"Steve'll become a Williams, right Dan?" Vito said, firmly.

"Um... we uh, we haven’t... really... discussed it," Danny said slowly. 

Eric and Vito shared a look that sent a sickly feeling into Danny's stomach. The tables had turned. Max bowed his head in understanding and smiled warmly.

"If you would please keep me informed when you make that decision I would greatly appreciate it. I would hate to refer to you by an incorrect name," he said.

"Mahalo Max," Danny muttered.

He mostly meant it. Max was being respectful by keeping tabs on his friends to keep their name changes up to date in his mind. Danny just wished that he hadn't asked in front of Vito. At least Vito waited until Max had left to scowl.

"You're gonna abandon the family name?" He demanded.

"Abandon the fa- I already have two kids Vito! The family name has moved on!" Danny huffed.

"Grace'll change hers when she gets married," Eric pointed out.

"Well that’s a long way off, if ever. And there's still Charlie," Danny said firmly.

"Will he stay a Williams?" Vito demanded 

"Technically he’s already Edwards-Williams. Charles Edwards-Williams-McGarrett is bit of a mouthful," Eric pointed out again. 

"You’re not helping Russo," Danny spat through gritted teeth.

"He's helping me!" Vito countered.

Danny ignored him and scanned the room again, "Where is Charles Edwards-Williams anyway? And where are like, half the guests?"

The room was a lot quieter than he would have expected considering how soon the wedding was due to begin. He couldn't see anyone from work apart from Max and Jerry. Not even Grace was around anymore. Eric's heart thundered as his mind raced to think of something, anything, that might distract Danny. The longer he thought the less he could think off until it was just sirens blaring in his head yelling to say something and say it _now!_

"Is this an open bar by any chance?!"

It just slipped out. His voice even squeaked. The desperation to say the first thing he thought of made him say the only thing that was in front of him.  
Eddie could feel Vito's accusery glare bearing down on him.

"No," He said firmly.

"Damn." Eric muttered. 

"Why? Can't you celebrate the good times without a drink E-Train?" Vito asked, pointedly. 

Eric groaned. His thumb went back to nervously flicking his camera on and off again. Vito scoffed at him. For all the strength he had gained out here, he was still a kid inside.

"Y'know it's classy to have an open bar," Vito said to Danny.

"Its an economic decision," Danny said, without looking at him.

"Why, your friends all alcoholics or something?" Vito snorted.

"No, but my family is, and Lou isn't paying for drinks this time," Danny said.

He was still glancing around for any indication as to where Charlie had disappeared to and he didn't think about what he was saying. That long forgotten dream of what his future could look like was so real that it still bled through sometimes. It took him a moment to realise it wasn't real.

"What'd you mean this time?" Vito asked.

"Nothing. Have either of you seen Charlie?" Danny asked. 

Eric's heart missed a beat. He masked it with a shrug, "I think he's with Chin."

"Where's Chin?" Danny asked. 

"Right there, on your face!" Vito laughed.

He reached out to tap the underside of Danny's chin, causing him to reel back.

"That’s... hilarious. Do me a favour and buy a joke book, okay Vito? Maybe one from this century," Danny scoffed.

He tugged at his collar and smoothed his shirt again without even noticing he was doing so. Vito's eyes lit up.

"You nervous?" He asked. 

"What? No I'm not nervous-" Danny lied.

"You look nervous," Vito interrupted. 

"I’m not nervous, I'm looking for my son and I'm avoiding Steve because I can't see him before the wedding, so I'm a bit -" Danny began, defensively. 

"If you're that worried Danny, go back to your room. Finish getting ready. We'll sent Charlie up to find you," Eric insisted. 

Danny frowned. "I am ready."

"You are?" Vito sounded surprised.

Danny frowned harder. "You don’t think the suit looks good?"

Vito glanced at Eric, who had just ordered himself a drink. Eric looked back, the straw hanging from his mouth so he wouldn’t have to answer. Vito shrugged curiously.

"You got anything to change into?" He asked.

"Only my pyjamas," Danny said.

"This looks great!" Vito declared, throwing his arms out as he did to gesture to the whole outfit, "Very simple, elegant, traditional, it's great."

Danny scoffed at his bad attempt at back tracking and muttered, "Ah what'd you know about style anyway, walking around like a living traffic cone-"

"What’s that supposed to mean?!" Vito scowled.

"It means ease up on the spray tan uncle V, be a natural colour for once," Eric translated.

Vito scowled at Eric, then back at Danny, and then threw his arms in the air like he was wafting away an irritating fly.

"I don't have to take this, I'd rather smoke this cigar and trigger another heart attack than have you two jabronis lecture to me about how to live! I’ve got a lot more years under my belt than either if youses, and I look a hell of a lot prettier than you too!"

He huffed and stormed off after his declaration. The way he marched so stubbornly caught Eddie's attention. He quietly followed, just to make sure Vito wouldn’t kick off. Eric stayed close to Danny.

"Alright well he's clearly going nuts," Danny chuckled, "Someone better warn Kamekona his partnership's in danger."

"Ah he'll be fine. I'll tell grandma he's been sneaking smokes before they head home and pop-pop will need to replace the fire extinguisher he keeps in the basement," Eric chuckled back.

Danny chuckled along at the mental image of Vito doused in fire extinguishing foam. There was a lull in their conversation for a moment as Eric tried his best to think of anything to say. 

"So, um, are you feeling better now? I'm not gonna have to tackle you on your way to the door am I? It might damage my equipment," he joked, tapping the camera that hung around his neck.

Danny forced a smile for him and shook his head, "as long as I see Charlie I'll feel better."

Eric's face fell. "Didn't you see Grace? Didn't she help?"

"Preferably I'd like to see both my kids before my wedding Eric. Charlie's been talking about showing Steve his rock all day, why would he go off with Chin?"

"Uh, Chin's best man. He’s got the rings. Maybe he was showing Charlie where he's keeping them?" Eric offered. 

The way he spoke it was clear he was thinking out loud. Even he didn’t know what he was saying. Danny gave him a quizzical look. When Eric quickly glanced away, the swirling doubt in Danny's stomach began to writhe again.

"Where's Chin Eric?" He repeated. 

"I uh... I can radio him if you like?" Eric offered.

Danny eyed him suspiciously. "When was the last time you heard from him?"

"Um..."

"Eric?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Have you lost Chin Ho Kelly?"

"In my defence he's a hard man to keep track of when he wants to be-"

Danny grabbed his arm urgently and hissed, "This is a disaster! He's the best man Eric! He's got the rings - _we_ _can't get married without them_! Where did he say he was going?!"

"He didn't," Eric yelped.

"The last time Chin went missing we found him and Kono seconds away from being executed. If Chin is missing, it's not good. We need to find him, _now!"_ Danny hissed.

"Steve's-"

" _Steve can't know_! If Steve finds out he'll shut down this whole operation until we find Chin, go all super SEAL to hunt down whoevers responsible and then we'll never get married and we'll lose the deposit and-"

Danny's words died on his lips. It seemed stupid to be thinking of a deposit at a time like this. After all if Chin was missing that meant something bigger was in play. He wasn't the kind of guy who would go off grid with no explanation. He was far too dependable for that. 

But at the same time, he was a fully trained and well experienced police officer. Danny had seen him take down miniature armies and leap across rooftops to protect the man who killed his father long enough to try and bring himself some justice. He was not someone to worry for.

Usually. 

"And?" Eric repeated. 

"We need to find Chin okay? You, me, and- where is everyone? Whatever, find Adam and Kono and tell them to keep this under wraps, got it?" Danny ordered.

"Shouldn't I stay here and keep everyone distracted by taking photos?"

_"Go!"_

"Going!"

***

“According to this, Charlie left with Steve but then this cakebox masks our view, does he come back in?” 

“Outside, alone, seen with Steve seconds before, if someone’s looking to get revenge this is the perfect time to do it.” 

Since a floor by floor search had turned up nothing of use, Tani and Junior had taken over the CCTV control room. Steve was on the roof, checking the blind spots while they tracked down the last few moments they could trace Charlie's whereabouts. On the monitor behind them they ignored the real time footage of Adam making small talk with Kamekona as he checked around the grounds, subtlety checking for signs of either Charlie or Chin. Kono cut him off by getting straight to the point, and Kamekona promised to radio Jerry if he saw anything. 

"Do we have any footage of the outside of the building?" Junior asked. 

"No, there aren’t cameras out there except for over the valet lot, and no one who used the service today has left yet," Lou said. 

He seemed to be the only one - apart from Steve - who was able to detach from the victim and see him as any other case. It was a skill developed over time, and fortunately neither Tani or Junior had the experience yet. 

Kono in particular was desperately searching anywhere she could get into to find him. She shamelessly implied that she was his mother to gain access to the rooms of guests who struck her as suspicious. Adam stuck close to her at all times, carrying her clutch and her heels and trying to stop her getting worked up. 

He knew she wasn't going to stop until Charlie was found. She never had before. At least this time he was there to help her. 

"This is crazy, how does a kid just vanish from under Steve's nose?" Tani muttered. 

"Weddings are busy and crazy places, there's staff, caterers, florists, all the people from your partners side you haven't always met yet- it's easy to take your eye off the ball for a second," Lou explained calmly. 

"That's all it takes," Junior said.

"I can't imagine having to watch a kid 24/7, I barely keep track of my Roomba," Tani said.

Junior frowned, "We don’t have a Roomba."

"Not anymore," Tani agreed. 

Before Junior could press for more information on the mystery Roomba, there was a crackle over the radio.

"Find anything?" Steve asked urgently.

The three of them looked to one another, each hoping someone else would answer. It fall to Lou to do so.

"Negative, the last visual is at 10:03," he said.

"For Charlie or Chin?" Steve asked.

"Charlie. He's last seen on the steps of the delivery bay," Lou said.

"What was he doing out there?" Steve asked.

"I don't know, you were with him, what were you doing at 10:03?" Lou asked.

"I was..."

The crackle that followed let them know he had let go of the radio. If he was speaking they couldn't hear it. It crackled again but it was Grace's voice that came through this time.

"You were what Steveo?" 

There was another long pause. Something was dawning on Steve. The next time his voice crackled through, there was more determination in it.

"Who's got a car I can borrow?" He demanded.

"What? Why?" Tani asked.

"I came in Chin's car, I need someone else's!" Steve urged. 

Tani and Junior looked up at Lou. They had taken a taxi here with every intention of being unable to drive home.

"Don't look at me last time he took my car the insurance wouldn't pay out because I don't have McGarrett cover. We weren't chasing down his kid then!" Lou scoffed.

"Borrow the Ferrari, it's in the valet," Adam said, through the radio.

"Thank you Adam!" Steve barked.

Kono was on her knees, looking under the bed of the room they had lied their way into, and she chuckled to herself. 

"You know he's going to crash that right?" She said.

"There's a landslide, traffic's gridlocked, he shouldn't have to wipe out anyone," Adam shrugged. 

"He shouldn't, but I bet he will," Kono warned.

"As long as it brings Charlie home, it's worth it," Adam muttered.

He meant it too. He had other cars, there was only one Charlie. Kono sat on her heels and smiled up at Adam. He wasn't even looking her way, his attention was on the radio. He held it carefully in his hand as he listened keenly to the conversation over it. In his other hand he held his wife’s bag and shoes to his chest like they were precious. The outline of the brush he had brought with him so she could fix her hair after she would inevitably be sick was clearly visible in his pocket. The pocket of his very expensive, tailor fitting, sharp and neatly pressed suit. 

Adam looked like he was made of money, and yet he'd throw it all away for the people he cared about without question.

Kono suddenly remembered all over again why she had fallen for him in the first place. 

"Grace, what baker did we order the cake from again?" Steve asked.

"You don't think-" Grace began.

" _Now Grace_!" Steve interrupted.

Grace thought for a moment before telling him. Almost instantly she heard someone thundering down the corridor on the floor above her. She dashed out into the stairway, just as Steve zoomed past her.

"Where are you going?!" She cried.

"I'll be back soon!" He yelled back.

"Steveo- Ste-" He didn't stop. She grabbed the radio again. "Steveo where are you going?! You can't leave you’re meant to be getting married in twenty minutes!"

Around the CCTV room they shared a look of panic. If Danny realised Steve was gone, that was it. They couldn’t imagine the melt down. They wouldn't.

"Adam I need your registration, stat!" Steve barked.

Adam read his registration out into the radio, which the valet was reluctant to accept, but Steve made it clear that if he didn’t give him the keys to the car he wanted, he would take whichever car was closest without the owners permission. The valet decided it was more than his job was worth, and let it go.

"Grace has he really gone?" Junior asked. 

Grace had run down to the large bay windows at the end of the corridor. It barely overlooked the valet carpark but that didn’t matter. The polished black Ferrari caught the eye the moment it hit the road. Once the rubber hit the tarmac there was a rev of the engine and Steve was gone. Grace's stomach dropped and her chest ached.

"Affirmative... Steveo has left the building."

There was now one more thing Danny could not find out. Steve leaving, no matter how necessary, felt like something they should fought harder to stop. It left a blow across the room like a wave rocking a ship a little too hard. Lou cleared his throat and picked up the radio. With Steve gone and Danny in the dark, he was in control. 

"Focus up, we still need to find Chin."

With that gentle nudge the teams attentions shifted. Grace, alone on the second floor, rested her forehead against the glass of the window before her. Charlie was gone, Rachel was passed out, the best man had gone missing, they had no one to officiate it, Danny was unaware of the whole thing, and now Steve was gone too.

This wedding was going to shambles before it even began.

"Whizz forward and see if you can locate Chin," Lou said.

"Okay, well, he was in the bar area on the phone, and then he moved to talk to Steve," Tani said. 

"Then he goes to the stairs, takes two steps up- what is he looking at?" Junior wondered aloud. 

"Whatever it is, it stops him going upstairs, I'll go check it out," Lou said. 

The door had barely shut behind him before Danny threw it open and did a double take to see who was inside. 

"There you are- what are you doing in here, I told Eric to get Adam and Kono," he said.

"We, uh," Tani began.

She threw an urgent look to Junior, who automatically generated the end to her sentence. 

"They're busy, we volunteered," he lied.

Danny frowned back, "Kono's too busy to help track down Chin? I don't buy it."

"You know Chin's missing?" Tani sounded surprised. 

"Of course I do. We need him back safely, where are we at so far?" Danny asked.

He pushed past to view the monitor in front of them. Whatever reasons Kono really had for not being here - and Danny had his suspicions - could wait. They needed to find Chin. Which meant they needed to figure out how much Danny knew, so they could work out what lies they were going with here.

"Well we've checked every floor and unless he’s in one belonging to a guests from outside the wedding, he's not on them," Tani said.

"We checked the roof, the fridge, the pool, all negative," Junior added. 

Danny glanced between them slowly and clicked his jaw as he thought to himself. They shared a tentative look as he straightened his back and folded his arms.

"Either you work a lot faster outside of work than inside, or I've joined the party late," he accused.

Ah. They'd been caught. Perhaps Danny knew them too well. 

"Steve didn't want you to worry," Junior insisted. 

"Too late for that," Danny muttered.

"Guys, I got blood. Looks like there's been a scuffle," Lou warned through the radio.

Kono snatched it urgently off of Adam. "Is it Chin's?"

"Chin got red blood?" Lou asked drily. 

"Usually yeah," Kono bit back a smirk. 

"Then maybe, because that's all I know about it so far!" Lou declared. 

Even while worrying about her cousin, Kono couldn't help being amused by Lou. He could find the humour in what he did and she appreciated it. Until it got serious. 

"I've found a gun. I'm requesting back up," Lou said.

"I'll go-"

Tani bounced to her feet instantly, but Danny stuck out his hand and gave her such a stern look that she froze.

"Sit down. Both of you."

Tani sunk quietly back into her chair and glanced at Junior. He reached over to squeeze her hand reassuringly. Junior wasn't as calm as he seemed though. Both of them felt like they were stuck in the head teachers office right now, waiting to be punished. Danny picked up the radio.

"Kono, is Adam with you?" He asked.

"Danny? Yeah, Adam's here," Kono said. 

"Send Adam."

Kono frowned, visually offended by the order. She didn't recognise the sternness in his tone, but it was the others did. He had become a lot more forceful in the time she'd been away, and once his orders were given there was no arguing. 

"Why would he send you? I'm a much better fighter," Kono said.

"I have no idea," Adam said.

"Do you think he knows?"

"How could he? I didn’t tell him, did you?"

"No, but he's a damn good detective -"

"What's your ETA Adam? Make it good man because this door doesn't look too bulletproof and I ain't got my vest," Lou interrupted. 

Adam flashed her an apologetic look as he took the radio back. "I'm on my way!"

He left Kono still pondering her question, as he hurried down to the laundry room. It was in the basement of the building. There was practically nothing else here, and no CCTV. The only thing separating Lou and him in the hallway from the laundry room, was a flimsy plywood door. 

"You got your gun?" Lou asked.

"No," Adam said.

"Here. It's Chin's I found it back there."

Lou held out Chin's handgun for Adam to defend himself with. Once he had taken it, Lou pulled his own gun from his holster, hidden under his suit jacket.

"You brought your gun to a wedding?" Adam sounded surprised. 

"To _McGarrett's_ wedding," Lou countered. 

That was enough said really. Adam shrugged in understanding. Steve was a danger magnet and they all knew it. 

"I bet if you check in that pretty purse you’re holding, Kono has too," Lou said 

She had. This wasn't her first rodeo. It should have been on the invites. Formal clothes, no gift necessary, remember to bring gun just in case. Adam cocked the gun and stood to defence on the opposite side of the doorframe from Lou. Once he was ready, he gave Lou the nod.

"This is Five-O, we're coming in, get your hands up!"

No response came from inside which wasn't always a good sign. Lou stepped aside to let the younger man bust the door down. Adam kicked it in with one leg and balanced himself to keep the gun aimed at the same time. One good kick was all it needed for the hinges to break off.

"HANDS IN THE AIR! HANDS IN THE AIR!" 

Lou was yelling on reflex. It was part of his training. He needn't have bothered though, because the blood trail ended here, with Chin. 

"About time!" He complained. 

Chin had been handcuffed to the pipes on the back wall, and sat on the floor with one knee up and the cuffed arm above his head. There was a gash on his head, but it had stopped bleeding a while back. Either he, or whoever left him here, had found a sheet to stem the bleed. That sheet had once been white. The rest of the room was empty. 

Satisfied there was no immediate danger, the guns were put away.

"You okay man?" Adam asked. 

"I'm fine, key's up there," Chin said.

He pointed to a shelf above him, far out of his current reach. The small silver key had been placed there so he couldn’t get it, but the tantalising chance that maybe he could if he just tried harder would drive him mad. The fact it sat neatly on top of his phone just made it worse.

"Who did this?" Lou asked. 

"I don’t know him, but he's here for the wedding," Chin said.

"He cuffed you and took your weapon only to ditch it and leave the key so you could be helped? This doesn't sound like the work of a vengeful criminal," Lou said.

"Did you get a good look at him?" Adam asked. 

"Pretty good, but it's dark and he was moving fast. He said he couldn’t let the marriage happen and then he locked me in here," Chin said.

He rubbed at the sores on his wrist as he spoke. No matter how often he ended up in them, Chin hated cuffs. They always chaffed.

"Call it in," Adam said to Lou. 

"We got him, he's alright," Lou said into the radio. 

A wave of relief flooded across the radio frequency. It was dampened by the next update. 

"Chin says we got an unknown in the building, looking to damage the wedding. Looks like he caused this, but there's no telling what else he's been up to."

Junior lowered his head to Tani's ear to whisper, "If someone’s trying to ruin this wedding that could explain -"

"Shh!" She hissed.

It was too late, Danny's eyes clamped down on them. "Explain what?"

Tani shot a glare in Junior's direction, but he already looked too apologetic for her to be mad at him. Danny's heart beat harder at their silence. 

_"What?"_

They didn’t answer, and as it turned out, they didn’t need to. Grace wanted answers from Lou, and they were on the same frequency. 

"Is Charlie not with him?" She asked.

"Negative," Lou stated.

Again Junior and Tani glanced at one another. Danny's shoulders tensed. 

"Why would she think Charlie's with Chin?" He asked.

"Have you found Charlie yet Steveo?" Grace asked urgently. 

Danny's eyes widened, "Charlie's _missing?"_

"Um," was all Tani could manage. 

"Steve's radio wont work at this distance Grace," Kono warned.

"Charlie's missing, and Steve knows, and he kept it from me?" Danny asked, slowly. 

Tani gulped.

"Well he wasn’t allowed to see you before-" Junior began, before she elbowed him.

"Where is he?" Danny demanded, "right now, where is he, I want to talk to him."

"You uh... yo- you can't," Tani said hesitantly. 

Danny’s eyes narrowed on her. "Why not?"

"Um..." Junior licked his lips.

"Guys if someone really has taken Charlie McGarrett's gonna need back up, anyone got any ideas where to send it?" Lou warned.

Danny's heart stopped. "He left?"

Their long silence answered his question as his jaw fell slack. Of the two of them, Danny never imagined Steve would be the one to run.

"In our defence he went to get Charlie-" Junior began.

It didn't make its way through, because the sheer idea that Steve would have left was still making its way through Danny's mind. His mind was buzzing. 

"You let him leave?! Where has he gone?!" He demanded.

"How can we send back up if he didn't say where he was going?" Kono asked.

"You don't know where he is?! He lef- Steve actually left?!" Danny cried.

He turned his back on Junior and Tani, running his hands through his hair as he tried to rationalise this in his mind. Steve had left him. On his wedding day. At the alter. And his son was missing.

Tani glared at the radio, desperately hoping that now would be the moment she suddenly discovered the ability to make objects spontaneously combust. Much to her frustration, it remained intact and in use.

"Steve kept my son being missing from me and he left our wedding, and none of you can tell me where he's gone?!" Danny demanded again.

"Uh..."

Danny rolled his eyes. Junior and Tani said so much to each other with their expressions that most of it was perfectly readable to him. Most of it. Nothing useful though. The bubbling anxiety that had been whispering something was wrong all day was now blaring throughout his chest like a vindicated volcano about to erupted. His tone darkened as his eyes danced between the CCTV moniters, searching for any signs of the man he was supposed to be marrying in ten minutes. 

"I need to know where my son is and where my fiancé is and they both need to be brought here to me alive, because I'm going to kill him."


	10. Chapter 10

"Big strokes Charlie, just like that! You're doing great!"

Charlie swept his arm through the water as much as he could, but the edges of his board were right against his armpits as he tried to paddle. Grace was only a short distance behind him, and deliberately so. They weren't even supposed to be here, if something went wrong, she wanted to be able to see it instantly without having to look back at him. 

It was a perfect day though. The sun was so bright and warm that it made her hair feel like a blanket. She had to twist it up and out of her face for surfing. The wetsuit she had matched Charlie's. He had needed help writhing into his. Beneath them, the waves bobbed calmly, sweeping against them as the tide moved towards the land they left behind. 

This was almost the perfect time for surfing too. The dawn patrol had moved out as work and school demanded their attendance, and it was too early for the tourist crowds to flood the area yet. Not that they usually came to this particular stretch.

Outside Steve's house, the ocean was rarely good for surfing, but given that Charlie had rarely been on a board in the water before now, Grace figured this was fine for him.

"Did Steveo teach you how to surf?" Charlie asked.

"No, no. Auntie Kono did. She taught me and Danno to surf together. He kept falling in!" Grace laughed at the memory. 

"Is that bad?" Charlie asked.

He had fallen in at least a dozen times already in his earlier lessons with Steve. He didn't want Grace to know that yet. She did though. 

"Nah, falling is in half the fun," she smiled.

"Was it just you and Danno?" Charlie asked curiously. 

"Would else would it be?" She snorted.

"Steve- _whoa!"_

Charlie shifted his weight to turn towards her and the surfboard tilted beneath him. He latched onto it for safety as behind him, Grace laughed brightly.

"Almost took a dunk!" She cried.

Charlie groaned. He was beginning to wonder if this was a good idea after all. The water was a lot darker and a lot deeper way out here.

"Uncle Steve was a bit different back then," Grace continued as she calmly paddled against the tide. "It was less about surfing and more about..."

She licked her lips as she tried to remember a single time she had spent the day with Steve and Danny and it hadn't ended with them being called to work. Whenever they weren't bickering, they were teasing each other through her, or Steve was trying to give her survival tips without Danny noticing and scolding him for it. It had been a funny joke back then, but they had saved her life since.

The Steve she used to know was not much like the one she and Charlie did now.

"What?" Charlie asked curiously. 

"Let's call it health and safety," Grace suggested.

There was a pause as Charlie wondered what she meant. The silence was filled with the quiet splashing of their lips against the water.

"Steveo," Charlie said, finally. 

"Huh?"

"You called him Uncle Steve again. He's not Uncle Steve anymore, he's Steveo."

"Right. Steveo..."

Grace quietly wrinkled her nose. Steve and Danny had only been officially dating for a handful of months now. Three months of calling him Steveo meant little against eleven years of calling him uncle Steve. Charlie was adjusting to the change far easier than she was. 

"He taught me to dive though. Military standard," she said.

"Danno says I'm not allowed to dive in the sea until I get my armbands off," Charlie said, glumly.

"You're almost there," Grace assured him. 

"He also says I'm not allowed out of the shallows until I don't need arm bands either," Charlie added.

"He told me that too when I was younger," Grace said.

She still wasn’t sure why her father had such an aversion to the sea when it was literally surrounding them. He gave her all sorts of reasons and they all felt superficial. Maybe one day, when they had more practice at honest communication (which they were working on) she'd ask again. Maybe that time he'd answer.

"We're out of the shallows now," Charlie said, cautiously. 

"Well this is different," Grace shrugged.

"How?" Charlie asked. 

"Well firstly we're not swimming, we're surfing. You can't surf on those ankle biters. Secondly, I'm here, and I can swim without arm bands, so I'll keep you safe if you fall in. And most importantly of all, Danno's not here and he’s _never_ going to find out. Is he?" She asked, pointedly. 

Charlie frowned nervously. He didn't want Grace to decide that he couldn’t be trusted with secret adventures like this, but he also hated lying. It made him feel queasy.

" _Is he Charlie_?" Grace repeated firmly. 

"I don't like lying to Danno," Charlie admitted.

"It's not lying, it's just... not telling him the full truth," Grace said slowly. 

It had taken her a long time to accept that sometimes her dad didn't need to know everything, even when he claimed he did. Lying to him made her feel awful, but she was entitled to her secrets. Rachel and Steve had made that as clear to her as possible. It was Steve who taught how to her to bend truths too.

"Besides, you're supposed to be in school right now, if you tell him where you really are, we'll both be in trouble," she added.

"I don’t want to be in trouble!" He whined.

"Then how do you stay out of trouble?" She challenged.

Charlie sighed. There was no winning against his big sister. "I won't tell Danno."

"You’re learning my young grom," she smiled proudly.

Charlie tilted his head at her. "What's a grom?"

"You are. If you wanna be a surfer you gotta learn the lingo!" She teased.

"The lingo?" He repeated.

"Yeah. Surfing comes with its own language, you'll pick it up don’t worry. See that swell?" 

Grace pointed to a looming wave slowly forming before them. She paddled up to Charlie's side to make sure he saw it.

"Uh huh?"

"I'm gonna catch it and show you what to do okay, you just watch!"

Charlie clung tighter to his board as he watched Grace move past him and out towards the wave. His stomach knotted as she disappeared into the barrel. As the wave grew closer he could just hear her bright laughter behind the sound of the crashing water. It crested before it ever reached Charlie, and Grace vanished beneath the surface. Charlie gasped. 

It was barely a second between her vanishing and her board breaching the surface, followed by her. She gasped for air, coughed up some water, and began laughing as she choked. 

"Did she see that?!" She beamed at Charlie.

The rush of knowing she was still alive was enough to win a stunning grin from the boy.

"Awesome!" He grinned. 

She heaved herself back up onto her board and wiped some of the water off of her face.

"You ready to take off?" She asked, eagerly. 

Charlie looked hesitantly out to the waves in front of him.

"I think so," he mumbled. 

"You scared?" She asked.

"Um..." he definitely didn't want her to think he was scared, even if the butterflies in his stomach made him what to vomit. 

"You don't have to be scared. If anything happens I'll come get you and we'll go back into shore and I'll make pancakes instead. Then we'll clean them up so no one ever knows we were there," Grace assured him.

That sounded nice. But they were all the way out here now. Danno never let him out this far, even surfing. He wanted to at least try.

"You'll be right here if anything happens?"

"No matter what happens. That's what ohana does. Promise," Grace said.

He frowned at her. He paddled closer to move his hand in a cross shape over her heart. She laughed. It was a move her cousin had taught her as a kid to make people feel accountable for their promises. It was nice to see that the next generation had picked it up too.

"I mean it! I promise!" She insisted. 

Charlie still seemed dubious but he nodded, "alright... I'm ready..."

"Then you say tubular, and show me a shakra, okay?" She smiled.

"Okay- tubular!" He forced a grin and shook his hand into a shakra.

She threw her head back with laughter and beamed at him, filling his chest with warmth as she did.

"Now you're getting it!" She beamed.

As the next swell started to form, Grace gave him a quick run through to refresh his memory. Charlie took it all in, and nodded as her smile stayed firmly in place. 

"Go on! Your turn!" 

She shoved the tail of his board to push him towards the wave. As he paddled out she cupped her hands around her mouth and called after him.

"Remember to _pop_ up okay? I'm right here if you need me!"

Despite his nervous stomach and the pounding of his heart, when the sound of the ocean was surrounding him, and the spray was in his face, Charlie suddenly understood it. There was almost no way of describing the feeling. It was as if he were gliding unrestrained by physics. 

Beyond the crash of the wave thundering ariunf him he could fiantly hear Grace cheering at the top of her lungs for him. "Yeah Charlie! Way to go! Yeah!"

The rush was freeing. 

The wave was not.

Charlie crashed backwards into the depths of the water, breaking the wave face as he went. The air was stolen out of him as he did. Just before panic could set in, his board, attached to his leg, dragged him back to the surface. 

Grace threw her hands into the sky and cheered to see him breach the surface and gasp for air.

"That was totally bitchin'!" She cried, "I'm gonna call you junkyard because you're better than a kook!"

Charlie's chest swelled with pride and delight as the adrenalin rush surged through him, but as he looked up at his sister, he still couldn't understand a word she was saying.

"How was it?" She asked. 

He lit up. "Totally bitc-uh-"

His fall fell in alarm as he remembered that he wasn't supposed to curse. Grace's eyes sparkled - although that could have just been a reflection of the blue around them.

"It's just you and me you can say it," she said.

Charlie glanced at her uncertainly. She bounced her eyebrows to encourage him. A small smile slipped out as he realised she was serious. 

_"Bitchin'!"_

He barely breathed the word before exploding into a fit of giggles that set Grace off too. It felt so incredibly naughty to sneak out of school to surf with his sister and swear with her. So grown up. So cool. He was lucky to have such a cool big sister.

The laughter between them only grew as they took on another few waves each. They couldn't stay out for long. Grace had only suggested they go at all because he didn't want to do gym first thing in the morning, and she didn’t want to think about her essay. If they got caught by the next rush they'd risk getting stuck in traffic. Then they'd risk a cop noticing them, and that would definitely get back to Danny and Steve.

As they paddled back to shore, Charlie fell behind Grace. He didn't want to go in yet. Not because he didn't want to go to school, or because he'd grown to enjoy surfing, but because he enjoyed having a sister.

When he was younger they were thrown together all the time. Rachel or Stan were busy working and Grace had to watch Charlie. Danny and Steve were pulled away to Five-O and Kamekona was watching Grace and Charlie. Grace took him to school when Danny had to get to work. She made breakfast, sometimes she packed his lunch, once or twice she turned up to the playground _at_ lunch with coco puffs because he had forgotten to bring lunch and the only one who realised was her. 

It was more like having an extra parent than having a sister to goof off with. It was only recently, since Grace had left home for college, that Charlie had realised how much he liked goofing off with her. He didn't enjoy being alone as much. Even with Steve as a new parent, it wasn't the same.

He missed Grace.

"Hey Gracie?" He asked quietly. 

"Yeah baby bro?" She asked, cheerfully. 

"Can we do this more?" He asked.

She smiled as she turned her head towards him, "You like surfing bro?"

"No- yeah, but, I mean, can we hang out more? Just you and me?" He asked.

Grace paused and blinked in surprise as Charlie bowed his head. 

"Now you're at college I never see you anymore... I feel like Anna..." he muttered.

"From Frozen?" She asked. 

"Uh huh.

"Oh."

"I miss you..."

Grace hadn't given much thought into how Charlie would feel about her leaving. She'd thought about how he would get to school without her, or how to make sure someone remembered he needed lunch when she wasn't there (although the military preparation Steve brought to the house helped with that) and she'd even made plans for keeping him and Eddie exercised by creating walking routes for them but _feelings_ never came up. Or, specifically, his feelings never came up. 

It rather took her by surprise to realise her not physically being there meant something to him. He was born into a divorce, he didn’t know life without two homes and Grace being the only constant.  
He had never had someone exit his daily life before.  
It all seemed blatantly obvious now she thought about it.

"Course we can. You're almost big enough for cell right? We can text like all the time," she grinned.

"But can we do stuff like this too?" He insisted. 

"Sure. You just gotta get rid of the bands first!" She teased.

Charlie beamed with delight. "Okay!"

"And I miss you too Charlie. It's weird not having my annoying little brother around," she said.

Charlie scoffed in offence but than he had a better idea. He reached down into the water and splashed her smug smirk away. She squealed as he did, and gasped in offence.

"Oh I'm so getting you for that!" She growled.

The paddling turned into a splash fight as the tide drifted them back towards the beach. Their laughter was clearly audible from the shore line, but it died when they reached the beach and saw who was waiting for them.

"You two having fun?"

Rachel kept her expression stern and her arms folded as she glared down at them. Charlie ducked behind Grace, as if he could hide now and stop Rachel ever knowing he was there.

Grace's jaw opened as she struggled to find her words. "Mom... what are you doing here?"

"The school called to ask where Charlie was. When I asked Steve why Danno hadn't dropped him off he said you took him today. When I tried calling you and it went to voicemail, I guessed you'd be out here," Rachel lied.

"How did you-" Grace began. 

"It's not your turn for questions Grace, it's mine," Rachel said, sharply.

Grace's mouth snapped shut. Charlie's heart sank. It was looking like they wouldn't be sneaking out together again for a while.

"I don't suppose either of you told your father what you were up to?" Rachel challenged. They hadn’t. "You know he's scared of the ocean and doesn't want you out there alone-"

"We weren't alone-" Charlie began. 

"Do I sound finished?!" Rachel asked sternly. 

Charlie pouted and bowed his head. His board fell into the sand behind him, as though that was suddenly sulking under her glare too.

"If something had gone wrong, who would have known? If you had been swept out to sea, who would have called the coast guard to make sure you came home safe? Who would have even known to call the coast guard?! Grace you're very nearly twenty years old, you should know better than to wander off without telling anyone where you’re going!" Rachel yelled.

Grace bowed her head. Quietly she muttered, "Sorry mom."

"And Charlie!" Rachel cried.

"I'm sorry mommy!" Charlie yelped automatically. 

"You can't even swim yet Charlie! There are sharks out there, how would you get away?!" Rachel insisted. 

"Uncle Steve taught us how to recognise sharks, we would have seen them coming," Charlie muttered. 

"Oh good, so you would have done what exactly? Turned around and out swum a fish?!" Rachel demanded. 

"Sharks are actually mammals-" Charlie began.

"That's not the point Charlie!" Rachel snapped.

Charlie winced. Grace stuck out an arm across his chest to push him behind her defensively. 

"Don’t blame him mom, it was my fault, I made him come!" She insisted. 

Charlie pushed away from her and argued, "No, I wanted to learn to surf and Danno never lets me-"

"I didn't want to do my school work, and I was gonna drop him off before he missed anything important-"

"I'm so close to being able to swim without arm bands mom, and I didn't want to go to gym-"

Rachel took a breath, ready to continue yelling, but she paused for a second. She tried to remember the last time they had argued to defend each other rather than blame the other. She wasn’t sure they ever had. She shook that thought from her mind before it dared to soften her resolve.

"Stop, stop, stop! Enough. Both of you are in big, _big_ trouble, do you understand me?" 

The arguments died on their tongues. Their shoulders sagged and they bowed their heads as they dripped salt water onto the sand clinging to their feet. At least they looked guilty.

"You, young man, are definitely grounded," Rachel said, firmly, pointing at Charlie. Her hand swiftly moved to point at Grace, "You... I don't know what I can still do to you, but you'd better believe I'll think of something!"

Grace frowned at the threat. She hadn't considered that before. She had grown up now. What little time she wasn’t at college or working in Kamekona's shave ice shack, was still split between her mother and her father. Rachel couldn't exactly confine her to her room for that limited time or ground her for all of it.

That left the opportunity for a worse punishment though. A financial one. That could cause some real problems with her new life style.

"What am I going to do with you two?" Rachel sighed. 

She shook her head as she turned back towards the house. 

"Mom?" Charlie asked quietly. 

"What?" Rachel asked. 

"Are you gonna tell Danno?" 

She turned to stare at them in surprise. Both of her children stared back, horrified. If Danny found out about this, they'd be punished twice over. She knew it, and they clearly did too. Rachel had no intention of telling him anything. Not that they had to know that yet.

"Are you seriously bargaining with me right now?" She demanded. 

They whined softly. Rachel sighed. She was such a push over for them, it made it hard to stay angry.

"You both got back to land safely. It isn’t his time with Charlie for another week now... he does tend to overreact to water risks... perhaps this time I can be persuaded not to tell Danny anything more than absolutely necessary. But only this once! Understood?" She warned.

The relief that swept through the two of them was enough to make them light up. Their shoulders rose like the weight of the world had been lifted from them. It amused her to see them attempt to mask their smiles. 

"Go and wash the salt off of yourself and get dressed. You're going to school and you're going to behave yourself," she ordered. 

"Yes mom," Charlie nodded.

He tried to dash off towards Steve's outdoor shower but stumbled when the board tripped him. He stooped to pick up the board, and carried on.

"You too Grace," Rachel said.

Grace picked up her board first and nodded, "Yes mom."

She knew she would leave a trail of sandy footprints if she dared go inside right now, and that wouldn't go unnoticed. Danny would pick up on it. He would have pieced it together. They would be doomed. So instead of going inside and using the other shower, she waited for her turn outside. While Charlie rinsed off, Grace put the boards away. Rachel headed back inside the house.

She moved quietly into the kitchen. Eddie raised his head, noted who it was, and laid back down. Rachel picked up the mug that had been refilled with coffee, and sat on the stool with a sigh. 

"Thank you for calling me," she said, earnestly.

Steve shrugged as he set the pot of coffee back down on the counter, beside the binoculars he had dug out of his cupboard. 

"I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. Danny would have flipped," he said.

"He's terrified of the ocean. Always has been," Rachel mused.

"With good reason," Steve agreed.

Rachel's eyebrow twitched as she eyed him, but she said nothing. It was enough to tell Steve everything. She had no idea why Danny feared the water. For some reason or another he had never told her the story of his friend and the undercurrent. Steve said nothing. It wasn’t his story to share. 

"Maybe that's why he's dating a Navy SEAL," Rachel teased. 

"I hope there's more to it than that!" Steve chuckled.

The lull in their conversations weren't uncomfortable, but they could easily become so if left too long. That they had discovered this morning, when Steve first phoned Rachel to let her know Grace and Charlie were skipping school. He had come home early to find them just as they were heading out.

He hadn't been dating Danny long enough to know how to deal with this alone, but he had known him long enough to know Danny would be furious. Instead he called Rachel, and set up on the lalani with his binoculars to make sure nothing could go wrong.

"Thank you for watching them. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened," Rachel said.

"Believe me if something had happened I would have in that water like a shot! I had the coast guard already dialled, look," Steve showed her his phone.

Sure enough he had the number punched in ready to go the moment he even suspected danger. He was grateful not to have to use it.

"Were they having fun?" Rachel asked.

"They seemed to be," Steve nodded.

"Good," she sighed, relieved. 

Steve gave her a quizzical look as he leaned back against the cooker and sipped his coffee. 

"I worry sometimes. Grace was an only child for a long, long time. She lived through a divorce and moving all this way and me getting remarried, but at all times she knew she had her Danno all to herself. He dotes on her," Rachel smiled weakly.

"I remember. At some point on our first case he pulled this giant toy rabbit out of the car and gave it to some kid so they wouldn’t ruin the operation. Apparently Grace had a project on rabbits or something and he got her that-"

"But Stan had gotten her a real rabbit, yes I remember that."

The sharp intake of breath as she recalled the bitterness of the argument that followed was enough to stop Steve asking questions. Their relationship had been rocky then but it was better now. He didn't want to risk that by stirring old emotions.

"Danny never liked to share Grace and I rather thought the feeling would be mutual. When Charlie got sick and she really did have to share Danny, I worried she'd be resentful of him," Rachel admitted.

"Grace loves her little brother. She always has," Steve said.

"I know..." Rachel said quietly.

They both glanced out of the window to the shower, where Charlie had started screaming with laughter. From their vantage point they could see Grace leaning over the fence to control the shower head and spray Charlie with it. A little extra revenge for splashing her in the surf. 

To see the two of them tease each other playfully like that was proof enough that they loved each other like any other siblings. Most of them anyway. 

"Then what’s wrong?" Steve asked.

"I suppose I just think it's unfair that Grace had to grow up so quickly and be so responsible so young, and Charlie doesn’t. Truth be told, seeing her out there, just having fun, I couldn't bring myself to drag her back in," Rachel confessed.

"We can all stand to be a little more childish sometimes," Steve said.

Rachel's eyes shone as she smirked at him. "Are you childish, Commander SuperSEAL?"

Steve laughed automatically at his nickname. As teasing as it was, it seemed to have stuck. There was nothing he could do about it now.

"Danny told you about that huh?" He smiled. 

"Oh yes, I think SuperSEAL was all I knew you as for at least a good three months," Rachel chuckled. 

"Its a lot nicer than what I knew you as," Steve said quietly. 

"I can imagine..." Rachel said.

She sighed again as she wrinkled her nose. All the names under the sun had flown between Danny and herself, like an aggressive game of ping pong. If he would say that to her face, Lord only knows what he would say behind her back. She hadn’t helped by lying to him about Charlie, she knew that. 

"Honestly though, I have to admit, knowing you're looking out of them too makes me feel a lot better about their safety. Danny will do anything to protect those kids, but they're his weak spot. They can be used against him. I dread to think what someone could manipulate him into if they threatened them," Rachel said. 

"I've seen it. It's not pretty," Steve said seriously.

It's terrifying. Come between Danny and his kids and your chances of survival depend entirely on who else is around. Both of them knew it. Stan knew it. If Danny threatening him for bringing danger into Grace's life wasn't enough, Danny shooting Stan through the shoulder when Grace was kidnapped was. If Steve hadn't showed up right at that moment - Rachel didn't want to think about it.

"He worries," Rachel said.

Steve nodded. That was an understatement, but he didn't bother to say it. "That's what ohana does right?"

"Well that's another reason I'm glad to have you around Steve. I trust you. I know you can keep this family safe," she said, earnestly.

Steve choked on his drink. His eyes snapped onto her as he felt a sob wrack through his chest. The shock silenced it.

"Thank you," he said, warmly, "That actually means a lot, thank you..."

Rachel chuckled as she raised her mug to him. "You're welcome."

"Eddie! Shoes!"

At Charlie's yell, Eddie leapt to his feet. He padded through the house sniffing as he tracked down the boys shoes. Once they had found them, he grabbed them and ran out the back door.

"I think that dog listens to Charlie more than he listens to me," Steve mused. 

Rachel chuckled as the kids showered Eddie with praise and affection and he lapped it up. He pushed his weight against their shins as he flopped down onto his belly. Steve shook his head as the dogs tongue lulled out of his mouth as he grinned happily at the attention. 

That was behaviour most unfitting of a police dog, let alone a military officer.

"I should make sure they get to school," Rachel said. She downed her coffee and stood up before hesitating, "Can you not tell Danny about this? I promised the kids." 

She was reluctant to ask. She knew better than most that Steve didn't like lies. He wouldn't voluntarily lie unless it was important. Protecting the kids was important. 

Steve raised his mug in agreement. "Mums the word."

"Thank you."


	11. Chapter 11

In the hands of a SEAL on a mission, Danny's Camaro could go like a bullet fired from a gun. A _Ferrari_ in those hands, was almost fast enough to miss when blinking. He didn't have sirens to blare, but that wasn’t going to stop him. Anyone who might dare to try would soon back off the when they realised who was driving. His eye skimmed the logos of the cars and vans stuck in traffic as the ferraris wheels ate up the grass verge. His head flicked back and forth as he checked the view in front of him for obstacles before continuing to search for the van.

The delivery driver had long since realised that this tailback was going to last the next few hours, and in this glorious heat, the cakes would be ruined long before they reached their destinations. In the spirit of aloha, he had decided to share the cakes with the other drivers stuck in this mess with him. After all, they'd only go to waste otherwise.

Imagine his surprise when he opened the doors to his van and found a ten year old boy in a suit and tie already eating one of the cakes.

"Uh... aloha," he said slowly.

"I can pay for the cake!" Charlie lied quickly. Then he glanced down at the crumbs he had dropped on the floor and back up at the driver, "uh, actually..."

While it had taken the driver a moment to adjust to what he had found, it took Charlie no time at all to adjust to being found. The driver helped him jump out of the back and had sat him on the passenger seat. Charlie was now sitting with his legs dangling out of the car door, happily eating the cake.

"Are you sure you don’t want me to call anyone for you?" The driver asked tentatively.

Charlie had denied his suggestion before because he only knew the number for Rachel's house phone and no one ever used it. More importantly no one was there. He shrugged, calmly.

"It's okay, they'll fine me."

The driver leaned on the car door and tilted his head at Charlie. "Your parents will be worried. Do you know where they are?"

"Yep. They're on their way," Charlie said, calmly.

He bit into the cake, leaving ever more crumbs across his face. The driver knelt down to his level. He tried to sound understanding to reassure Charlie, but Charlie didn't need reassuring.

"Listen kiddo, I know it feels like your parents should know where you are at all times, but they don't. They really don't. And if they don’t know where they are, how can they find you?"

"They'll track me down. They always do."

That sent up a red flag. The driver frowned, but tried to hide that from the boy.

"Have you lost them before?" He asked carefully.

"No. But someone always comes when I'm in trouble. I just have to wait and not be scared," Charlie explained.

"Uh huh..." the driver nodded slowly, "it's good that you’re not scared. I think."

The driver wasn't sure what else he could do. Firstly they were stuck in traffic that had been gridlocked for at least half an hour, which meant taking him back to the last drop off point wasn’t an option. Secondly- he frowned as he heard a distant sound of tired squealing and people yelping in surprise. He looked up to see people jumping away from the grassy verge beside them.

"What's that? What's going on?" He called.

"Some idiots speeding down the sidewalk in a sports car!" Someone called back.

Charlie set aside the cake and hopped to his feet to dust himself off.

"They could get someone killed! They've gotta be on the run- someone better call Five-O," The driver said.

As the Ferrari finally spun into view Charlie calmly shook his head.

"No need," he said.

The Ferrari passed by them with a whirl of the engine. Muffled as it flew by, they heard someone yell, "CHARLIE!" from inside. They slammed on the break hard as they could, causing the back tires to smoke. The fresh skid marks on the road left a lingering smell of burning rubber. He had to turn back on himself to close the gap the stopping distance had left.

"They're already here," Charlie finished.

The Ferrari door was kicked open and a tall man in full Navy blues leapt out. He ran across to the van, his eyes wide as relief flooded through him.

"Charlie!"

Steve breathed his name with utter relief as he bundled the boy against him. Charlie made no attempt to stop him, because Steve was twice his size and then some, and his uniform swallowed the boy into him.

"Thank God you're safe don’t ever-" Steve paused to kiss Charlie's hair and breath in his smell, "never do that to me again."

Charlie argued but his voice was muffled by Steve. Steve knelt down to his level, ignoring both the cake across his shirt and the residue that it left on him.

"What did you say?" He asked, urgently.

Steve's eyes were wide and terrified and relieved as he stared up at Charlie like he was the answer to all his prayers. In a way, he was. Charlie, however, huffed at having to repeat himself.

"I didn't do anything, I was just looking at the cakes and the door shut," Charlie repeated.

"I thought I lost you! I thought-" Steve barely hesitated as he refused to admit he ever thought Charlie was in danger. He didn't miss a beat as he took his hands in his own and said, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

The driver placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder from behind him. It was hard to imagine from the boys reaction and by how recklessly this man had driven to get here, that they weren't related in some way. Still, it was the only thing he could think to say.

"Is this your boy?" He asked, accusingly.

Steve glanced up. It was only in that moment that he became aware of the driver, let alone the small crowd that had gathered. He stood up right, rested his hands on Charlie's shoulders, and pulled him towards him so Charlie's back was pressed against him. There was no escaping that.

"Yea- uh - sort- um, yeah. Yeah he's my boy. Thank you so much for keeping him safe," Steve said.

"I honestly didn’t do anything, I just found him in there eating my cakes," the driver admitted.

Charlie looked up at Steve and said, "They're really good!"

Steve smiled, but tutted. "You're gonna spoil your dinner."

It was at that point he actually looked at Charlie and realised that his suit was covered in crumbs and frosting.

"You’re covered in it!" He gasped. Then he groaned to himself, "Danno's gonna kill me..."

"Driving like that you’re lucky you don’t kill yourself. Or anyone around you," Someone from the crowd barked.

Steve glared at the crowd, unimpressed that someone dare question his driving abilities. Not once had he been in a car crash with the wrong car in the entire time he'd been on the island. Duke was always quick to point out that any and all crashes Steve was a part of ended in a suspect's capture. Or death.  
Either way they were off the streets!

"Don't worry, I'm Five-O. I've had plenty of training in pursuit driving, I can control a vehicle," he said, firmly.

"Uh huh," the driver eyed him suspiciously. "Didn't I give you a wedding cake today?"

An alert went off in Steve's mind at the reminder, and suddenly it was all systems go all over again.

"Yep! Getting married! Gotta go!"

Charlie squealed with laughter as Steve hoisted him up off of his feet and hurried to the car with him. Usually he would have to to in the back, where his booster seat was, to follow both legal and Danny's safety requirements.

But today they were in a Ferrari, and it only had two seats.

Steve leaned over Charlie as he strapped him in and explained, "Okay, so, I'm going to let you sit in the front without a booster okay, and in return, you’re not gonna tell Danno about how fast we're gonna drive? Deal?"

"Okay Steveo," Charlie beamed.

There were new skid marks heading away from that patch of road too now.

Vito's head traced back and forth as he watched Danny pacing again. As he went he ranted, as he always did. Eric and Vito had been left to babysit him while Lou returned to help Jerry manage the family, Tani and Junior joined Grace in lingering on the doorstep to watch for signs of Steve's return, and Kono and Adam hurried Chin away to Steve's room to clean his cut and find him a replacement shirt.

"If he kills Steve dyou think I can take the grilled sandwich machine I got them back? It's auto cleaning and honestly I didn't want to hand it over in the first place," Vito quietly asked Eric.

Eric scoffed scornfully at him and shook his head. Vito pulled a face behind his back at how uptight he had become.

Until, that is, he admitted:

"I already asked and Danny said no."

Vito snorted. A swell of pride filled his chest. Maybe the kid was still like him in some ways.

"He's not coming back. Of course he’s not coming back. I don't know how I imagined marriage ever going well for me, I can't make them work, Steve knows that, that's why he's gone! This is my fault, I should have known better."

Danny's mind was growing more and more frantic as the clock ticked down. Eric reached over the bar to pour more lemonade into his glass.

"You're not making any sense," he said as he did.

The bartender shot him a warning look and Eric stubbed a thumb towards Danny. It was added to the already foot long bill.

"I'm making perfect sense!" Danny barked.

"No you're not," Vito agreed.

"What would you know?!" Danny snapped.

"When Steve quit the restaurant he didn’t just leave without warning like this. He talked to you about it. That’s what he does. He talks. It's boring, and it's annoying, but he talks," Vito said.

Talking wasn’t what most people would refer to as Danny and Steve's relationships defining characteristic. They didn't talk so much as bicker. But even that resolved itself. What was that if not talking things out?

"He shoots people in the leg because he can't be bothered to chase them!" Danny countered.

Vito reeled back in surprise. He turned to Eric. "He does?"

Eric knew the answer but decided the less Vito knew the better.

"He gave you his house to stay in so you could settle down somewhere permanent while he was travelling. When he came back he moved into a hotel until you said you were ready for him to come home. He waited for you to be ready before proposing. Steve waits. He talks. He doesn't take off with no warning and no intention coming home," Eric countered.

"You weren't there for Japan," Danny huffed.

"I heard he left a note," Eric said.

Danny huffed again. He wanted to keep arguing but the problem was that Eric knew too much. He spoke to too many people. He gathered too much information.

And he was right.

Whenever Steve had to make a choice, he told Danny about it. Missed calls became voice mails. Unanswered texts became calls. They emailed as much as they texted, and yeah, they left each other handwritten notes. Some might even call them love notes. They started as simply messages to be read later, reminders of meetings and the like, but the kisses and the terms of endearment evolved naturally. Quinn had teased them for it, which was the only reason they noticed the resemblance.  
Even before they were in love it spilt out.

So why wasn’t Steve here when he was supposed to be?

"Honey, the ceremony is supposed to start any minute! Where is everyone?" Clara asked urgently.

While Jerry was doing an excellent job at keeping people contained, Kamekona and Flippa were trying to keep them entertained by singing traditional Hawaiian songs. Eddie was enthralled. So much so he didn't notice Clara impatiently slipping out.

"Go sit down Ma," Danny muttered.

"What's going on?! Why aren't we starting?" She demanded.

Having seen her mother creeping out and attempting to go unnoticed, Stella realised something was up. She wasn’t one to be left out, and followed to find this growing crowd.

"Dan-Dan? What's going on?" She asked.

"Go, um, I-I can't, Eric, I can't, can you deal with this?" Danny said.

He puffed and huffed and rubbed his eyes with his fingers as he took back to pacing again. Eric was leaning against the bar and shrugged.

"What do you want me to say?" He asked.

"Steve's hopped it," Vito stated.

"He's _what?!"_ Stella cried.

"No way!" Clara cried.

Their volume drew curious looks from the guests already waiting in their seats.

"Really not helpful," Danny hissed.

Vito shrugged and gave the best apologetic look he could muster.

"Is he coming back?" Stella asked.

"I hope so, but I have no idea!" Danny huffed.

"Where's he gone?" Clara asked

"We don’t know. All we know is he took Adam's Ferrari," Eric said.

"Oh, well then he’s coming back, what are you worried about?" Clara shrugged.

The confidence in which she declared it made it seen like this was blatantly obvious and shouldn't be doubted. Eric and Vito shared a dubious looked and when they turned back, it was mirrored by Danny.

"What?" He asked helplessly.

Clara glanced between her family members were they were insane for not seeing the connection as easily as she did.

"You don't borrow a friends car and leave them with no way of getting home, do you?! Of course he'll be back, and he'll bring the car with him," she said, plainly.

Again, around her the others shared a look of bewilderment, and checked that the others were as lost as they were.

"Just to be clear, you're basing your idea that Steve will return to this wedding, not because he loves your son and wants to get married, but because he borrowed someone's car to go?" Stella asked drily.

"Well I thought the first bit went without being said," Clara said sarcastically.

Vito shook his head low. He had known Clara for what felt like the best part of a lifetime now and he still had no idea how to react to half the stuff she came out with.

"What can I do to help Dan-Dan? Wanna borrow my car and go find him?" Stella asked.

She dug around in her bag until she could find the keys and offer them to him.

"No, its alr- your car? Why have you got a car, I thought Eric was driving you everywhere?" Danny suddenly realised.

"I want my own freedoms, even from my son," Stella shrugged.

"Thanks Ma, love you too," Eric said sarcastically.

"You’re an annoying moron and I need a break sometimes, doesn’t mean I don't love you with all my heart baby," Stella said, seriously.

"Yeah snookems, mommy loves you," Vito cooed.

He reached out to squeeze Eric's cheeks together under his chin and Eric thrashed him away roughly.

"Thanks. Feels real," he said, drily.

Danny sighed impatiently as his mind went swirling and none of them helped to drag him back to the ground.

"Can you please just-"

He couldn't even finish his sentence because they continued their conversation as if he wasn't there.

"Can two or all of you please go to the bridal room and check on Rach please?!" He snapped. Once he did, silence fell across the room. He felt a little guilty, but the silence helped to soothe his wild thoughts. "If she's feeling better can you help her down to the ceremony room? I know she wouldn't want to miss Charlie's big moment."

"We'll do that, come on honey," Clara declared.

She grabbed Stella by the wrist and tugged her towards the elevators.

"But ma, I was gonna-" Stella began.

"We gotta be quick the ceremony could start at any moment!" Clara interrupted.

Begrudgingly, Stella allowed Clara to hurry her away. No sooner had two left than another turned up. Danny huffed at yet another interruption.

"What's going on, what's with the hold up? McGarrett have to go save the world already?" Kamekona asked.

"No the world, just Charlie," Vito said.

Kamekona tensed. "Little Charlie?! I thought he was playing hide and seek? He's in _danger?_ Who did it? I want names, I'll set em right, you don't mess with ohana!"

Kamekona slammed his knuckles against his palm. For the first time it really hit Eric that his good friend and business partner with slightly shady connections used to be a criminal informant. Heavy on the criminal.

"Danny's worried its all an excuse to bail," Vito said.

"Pff, I hope not, the odds of that are way too-" Kamekona cut himself off with a glance towards Danny. "I wouldn't bet on it is all I mean."

Danny wasn’t an idiot. He knew Kamekona would take bets on whether a Caterpillar could build a cocoon if someone would pay up for it. He knew about the wedding bets too.

"Kamekona, I..." Danny paused. He shook his head. It wasn’t worth the effort. "Y'know what? I'm just grateful the only face on you is yours."

"The original masterpiece," Kamekona beamed.

"HE'S HERE! HE'S BACK! HES HERE!"

Grace shouted into the radio as Steve slammed the Ferrari into the first gap he saw. The family inside darted forward as Five-O descended on the entrance. Steve threw the keys to the valet and pulled Charlie out of the car and into his arms.

"Thank God you’re here! You almost got demoted back down to uncle!" Grace warned.

"No time to talk, we're due at the alter!" Steve panted.

He carried Charlie up the steps as fast as he could go. Grace hitched up her skirt as she hurried alongside them. In the blind panic driven focus, they almost crashed directly into Danny.

"Steven! Where the _hell_ have you been?!" Danny shouted.

His voice echoed across the halls and even Flippa got distracted. There was fury blazing in Danny’s eyes as he grabbed Steve by the collar. Steve's heart thumped as he let Charlie slide free to safety. Danny's hand slid up to Steve's cheek as the relief that he was finally there rushed through him.  
Steve was just as confused as Danny as one of Danny's hand was crushing his collar and the other cupping his jaw.

"I don’t know whether or kiss you or strangle you!" Danny growled.

"If I'm allowed a choice-" Steve began.

That was it. Steve opened his mouth and Danny knew exactly how to react. He thumped him right across the back of his head, and shoved him roughly backwards with his other hand.

"Oof. Not what I would have picked," Vito said.

"I'd have gone lower," Eric muttered.

"Not on your wedding night you wouldn't," Kamekona sniggered.

"Bold of you to assume it's still his wedding night after this," Eric muttered. 

"What were you thinking you knucklehead?! Every day I tell Grace and Charlie never to go somewhere without telling anyone in case something goes wrong, I didn't think I'd have to tell _you!"_ Danny huffed.

 _"_ I'm sorry, but I'm back now-" Steve began.

"Yeah you're back, you're back late and no one knew where you were! You could have been dead! We were already worried about Chin and then you vanished too! What the hell was going on in that thick skull of yours?! And _Charlie!"_

The rest of Five-O - bar Jerry and Junior who were trying to reassure the guests that everything was under control - were fussing over Charlie. That is, until Danny shoved them aside and reached out to examine his son for injuries. There wasn’t a scratch on him. That much was a relief. 

Danny knelt down to his level and took his hands in his. He tried not to sound as angry as he felt. "What have I told you about telling people where you are?! You don't just go away without telling me or this lot where you're-" 

"Steveo was with me!" Charlie argued. 

Steve winced. Danny had been distracted by the mess down Charlie's suit and didn't notice. 

"What-" Danny began to question the mess until he glanced at Steve and noticed the imprint that matched it on his clothes too. His shoulders sagged helplessly. "What is all over you?"

"Well-" Steve began, but he quickly became distracted by Chin. He blinked in surprise to see his best mans new injury, "what happened to you?"

"Long story," Chin shrugged sheepishly.

"I'll bet," Steve muttered.

"Never mind that, where have you been?!" Danny demanded.

"I'll explain later, c’mon, we're meant to be getting married!" Steve insisted.

He grabbed onto Danny's arm to usher him along, but Danny was having none of it and shoved him away again. Eric took a step back. Danny had a mean left hook - he had been a boxer back home - and he didn't want to be caught by it if Danny snapped. 

But Danny hadn't even thought of that. The idea of actually hurting Steve, even in his mangled turmoil of fury and hurt and confusion, was unthinkable to him.

"Later?! _Later?!_ You’re lucky I’m here now, I almost left twice!" He hissed.

Steve’s face fell. He hadn't been gone that long, twenty minutes, twenty five at the most. In that time, Danny had lost all faith twice.

"You did?" Steve asked, softly.

"No, _you_ did!" Danny cried. "I just thought about it, you actually ran off!"

"You don't want to get married?" Steve whispered, painfully.

"That's not what I said Steven. But I'm not marrying you until you tell me exactly what happened here!"

There were furious tears in the corner of his eyes now. Steve had never seen him like this before. Not because of something he had done.

"I had to go find Charlie-" he began, quietly.

"Why was he gone in the first place?!" Danny demanded.

"Because-"

"What happened Steve?"

"I..."

Danny stared at him with huge blue eyes desperately seeking answers. Steve gulped. Everyone in the room was staring at him, waiting. They all wanted an answer. He had the sickly feeling that whatever he said now would decide whether or not he a partner this time tomorrow, let alone a husband. He bowed his head. All he had was the truth.

"I messed up."

Tani glanced at the doorway to the ceremony. She wondered if she should warn Junior to call a taxi now to avoid the rush.

"What?" Danny asked, softly.

"I took my eye off him. I got distracted... he got inside the cake van and I didn't notice. I should have been paying attention. I'm so - I'm sorry Danny," Steve confessed.

Danny's entire posture changed suddenly. Whatever he had expected Steve to say, this definitely wasn’t it. As heartbroken and apologetic as Steve looked, Danny just looked baffled.

"The cake van?" He repeated.

"I'm so sorry Danny..." Steve sounded like he was holding back tears.

Danny licked his lips as he held in a laugh. "He got inside the cake van?!"

His voice shook slightly as he glanced down at Charlie. The chuckling just kind of slipped out. Every time the plans for the wedding came up and Charlie was in the room he questioned the cake. It was the only thing he cared about.

"Of course he was in the van! Where else would he have gone?!" Danny laughed.

Steve frowned and raised his head uncertainly. "Are you... are you laughing?"

"Chin said someone was lurking around looking to ruin the wedding, I thought- oh, he was in the _cake_ van!" Danny laughed louder.

 _"Oh_ he was in the _cake van_!" Tani gasped with realisation.

Of course they couldn't see him come back in on CCTV, he never left the van.

"They didn't know?" Kamekona asked.

"Steve just left, none of us had any idea where hed gone," Vito explained.

 _"McGarrett_ left? Damn, I didn't predict that," Kamekona said. 

"I thought he left to avoid you," Eric teased.

"Which is reasonable," Kamekona agreed.

Rachel had smoothed her dress and brushed out her hair and now she looked fine, even if she was leaning on Stella as she walked. As much as Stella wanted to berate her for everything she'd put Danny through and for making her big brother move so far away, Stella kept her mouth shut. Rachel had come to the wedding to celebrate her baby daddy finding someone else to love. Not many people would be that brave.

She hadn't been.

Now though, Steve was back, and Stella was definitely going to yell at him. She tapped Kamekona's arm to get his and Vito's attention.

"Could you two walk Rachel inside please?" She asked.

"And miss all the action? Nothing's happening in there!" Kamekona complained.

"Isn't your cousin playing his music?" Clara asked, pointedly.

"So what, he does it every week," Kamekona shrugged.

"Kamekona," Kono warned.

"I hear you, loud and clear, take my beautiful face, and get it out of yours, alright, we're going," Kamekona declared.

 _"We're_ going?" Vito repeated, affronted.

"I gotta miss the fun, you gotta miss the fun, that way I don't miss all the fun, you get it?" Kamekona threatened.

"Not a single word," Vito said.

Kamekona scoffed. He held out an arm to Rachel, who took it gratefully. Vito took her other arm.

"We look like we're off to see the fricking wizard," he complained.

Kamekona ignored him, but in her slightly drunken mind, Rachel began humming to herself, and Kamekona joined in. Vito rolled his eyes, but he didn’t want to be left out. The three of them walked into the ceremony room, singing to themselves as they went.

"So you're the one who worked out where he was and went to rescue him?" Danny asked. Steve gave a weak nod. "So you left me at the alter to rescue our son because you didn't want me to know he was gone?"

"Well there's no getting between Charlie and cake," Steve shrugged weakly.

Danny wrinkled his nose and glanced at their son. Even though Tani knelt down to dust the crumbs off of him, he was still covered. Tani was undoing the buttons of his waistcoat while Chin whipped his jacket like a flag to try and shake the worst of it off. Eric lifted his camera to quietly photograph it.  
Capture everything, that was his motto.

"How much did he eat?" Danny asked.

"Not as much as I thought, but enough. You’re not mad?" Steve asked.

"What, that you looked away for a second and Charlie got inside a safe van full of food and drove away until you went racing across the island to save him?" Danny snorted.

"If it helps, Charlie wasn't scared. The driver said Charlie was sure someone was going to come and pick him up, he was just waiting to find out who," Steve insisted.

"That's hilarious," Grace laughed.

"Well someone did come! I was right!" Charlie nodded firmly.

Adam chuckled as he ruffled Charlie's hair playfully, "you're vindicated buddy."

Danny laughed again. The relieve still coursing through him was making him slightly light headed as it spun him in circles. They hadn’t even made it to the ceremony yet and they'd already been on a rollercoaster of emotion. By the uncertain look in his eyes, so had Steve.

"You’re really not mad?" He asked again.

Danny's hand curled up at Steve's collar as his stomach ached. The fire of fear and anger was being soothed but the relief that they were both home safely, and the devastation in Steve's eyes tugged at his heart strings. He couldn't stay angry, even if he wanted to.

"Oh I'm furious! I am, I'm furious, but not because you lost Charlie, because you didn't tell me!" He said, firmly. 

"Been there," Lou muttered under his breath.

Steve steeled himself for the inevitable I-Told-You-So but it never came. The fact that they both knew Lou was right was satisfaction enough today. 

"We're getting married Steve," Danny urged, "We're a team. Whatever problems you cause are _our_ problems. We solve them _together._ Okay? From now on, no matter how bad it is, no matter how angry you think it'll make me, you need to tell me. Got it?"

"But... I shouldn't have taken my eyes off him. It was my fault. I thought-"

"We've all lost our kids at some point Steve, it happens," Lou assured him.

"You've left your kid in a cake van before?" Steve repeated, clearly not believing him.

"That's nothing!" Danny scoffed, smiling, "When Grace was little she escaped from her school and made it half way across new Jersey to my apartment on her own to tell me she didn't want to go to Hawaii."

"She did?" Steve blinked in surprise.

"Yeah I did," Grace said.

She pulled a sheepish look like she was ashamed of it, but the grin that seeped through was proud. Behind her, Clara chuckled at the memory. As much as Danny liked to pretend he was an excellent day from day one, there had been a steep learning curve.

Kono quietly nudged Adam, but he was enthralled with the conversation happening around him.

"You've all done something like this?" Adam asked, surprised.

His disbelief mirrored Steve's. Neither of them had the experience with children that the parents around them did, and it was a surprise to hear them all murmuring in agreement. Even the parents who were always so calm and protective and expert at parenting like Lou and Danny had similar stories.

"Kids tend to do things just for the sake of giving their parents a heart attack. It's how you react that matters," Clara said.

"One time I turned my back on Samantha and she fell off the couch and bit her lip open. It needed three stitches," Lou said.

"Three?" Chin repeated.

"One for each year of her life," Lou nodded.

"How many did you need when your wife found out?" Clara asked.

"None, but thankfully I'm trained in dodging flying artillery," Lou said.

A familiar laugh rippled through the group, which eased the guilt on Steve's shoulders, but left him bewildered.

"When Danny was young he put a pot on his head and when I turned to get the camera to take a picture he ran headfirst into a wall. Couldn't see where he was going. He had a bruise along here for days," Clara chuckled.

She ran a hand from his eyebrow to his ear as she explained. Grace and Charlie lit up to hear stories of their overprotective father being as silly as they were. The rest of them laughed along with them.

"I did?" Danny asked, surprised.

"You wouldn't remember you were still in diapers," Clara assured him.

"Explains a lot," Eric muttered.

"Hey!" Danny warned.

"The first time the clocks changed in San Francisco I was an hour late to pick up Sara. She walked into the police station, sat at my desk, and tried to file a missing child report on herself," Chin said.

Kono threw her head back and laughed, "No she did not!"

"Yeah! Haven't forgotten the day the clock changes since," Chin said.

"Eric ate so many coins that when he needed to be grounded we just sat him under a magnet," Stella said.

"Its true, I'm pretty sure there’s a nickel still in there," Eric pointed to a spot along his side.

"When Joan was learning to walk, I let go of her hand to push the pram out of the elevator, and left Joan in it," Mary said.

No one had noticed her approaching the group, but they moved apart to welcome her in now they had.

"The point is we all make mistakes where our kids are concerned," Danny said to Steve.

"The trouble with children is that they have to make mistakes to learn, and sometimes they get hurt which is scary, but if you don't let them learn they'll never grow up," Chin said.

There was a murmur of agreement, which included Tani, as if she wasn't one of the children who made mistakes and just learned that mistakes were fun. Danny ran a hand along Steve's arm gently.

"Today is a really big day, there was a lot on your mind, and Charlie was _fine._ You had the entire Five-O task force pulled away from your wedding to find him though, so I'm guessing you were terrified?" He said, knowingly.

Steve nodded, floored, "I couldn't breathe."

"Good," Danny snorted.

"Huh?" Steve blinked.

"That fear? That's parenthood babe. You're officially a dad!" Danny grinned.

"Mazel Tov!" Lou cheered.

The rest of them agreed. As they usually ended up doing when they were all together, it was less of a cheer and more just a collection of approving noises. Words melded into one another as they did it.

"You realise you're late right sirs?!" Junior called from the doorway.

He tapped his watch pointedly as the cheers turned to jeering.

"Can everyone not in the wedding party please take their seats?! _Now!"_ Eddie ordered.

No one was about to argue with the retired fire chief. They scattered apart to hurry away to where they were suppose to be at that moment. Steve's hand caught against Danny's.

"You don't still have cold feet do you? Because I'd still really like to marry you," he said, earnestly.

Danny pursed his lips as he failed to hold back a smirk. Steve was so cute when he was out of his depth. Danny didn't see it often. He cupped Steve's cheek gently and leaned up. Steve moved down to meet him halfway. Both were surprised by the phone that was suddenly shoved between them to keep them separate.

"Ut-ta-uh! Not until the big moment! It's bad luck otherwise!" Stella scolded.

"Like we need any more of that!" Tani scoffed. 

"You are so embarrassing," Eric complained.

"You’re not too big to go over my knee young man!" Stella threatened.

Eric wrinkled his nose. He was fairly certain he was too big by now, but he didn’t want to risk it. Stella took him by the wrist and followed Clara back towards their seats.

"Go with Chin bud, you gotta get the -" Danny paused.

The hand that had been resting on Charlie's back moved. He ran a finger across the side of his neck to remove a layer of whipped cream and held it out to Steve.

"Is that still cake?"

Steve grabbed Danny's hand and sucked his fingers to lick the cream off them, locking eyes as he did. All the while Charlie giggled. Steve swilled his tongue across his mouth, thoughtfully, and flashed Danny a grin.

"Yeah," he said.

"That was gross," Danny lied.

He snatched his hand back and wiped it on his shirt. Steve's eyes sparkled as he practically heard Danny silently threaten revenge.

"Couldn’t you stay clean for a couple hours? Kono had to deal with a nuclear bomb on her wedding day and she's still spotless in all the photos!" Danny complained.

"Well I wasn't dealing with a bomb!" Steve argued.

"Good!" Danny cried.

The argument would have continued if Chin hadn’t swooped in to rescue Charlie and Steve suddenly remembered something.

"Chin, tell me you sorted out the officiator?" He said.

Chin winced, "No, sorry, I got tied up."

"What happened to the officiator?" Danny frowned.

"The officiator is stuck in the landslide-" Steve began.

"The same one Noelani is dealing with?" Danny asked.

"Noelani isn’t here?" Steve frowned.

"Focus," Danny ordered.

Steve frowned, "Right, we need someone else to take over."

"Jerry's still ordained I think," Chin said.

Steve and Danny shared a look at the suggestion.

"Jerry's been keeping this wedding going steady while we've been tracking down Charlie," Steve said.

"Since way before that, he was helping set up," Danny said.

"He deserves recognition for that," Steve said.

Danny grinned. "Yeah Jerry's a good choice."

They had to send Adam to fetch him for them, because he was the only one who hadn’t made it back to his seat yet and they couldn’t risk one of the grooms being spotted. Jerry was ready for another problem to solve, as always.

"What’s up, whats happened, what'd you need?" He asked urgently.

"There's been a bit of a problem and now we need someone new to officiate for us," Steve explained.

"So you want me to find someone at short notice, I can do that, make some calls-" Jerry began.

"No, no, Jerry, you don’t understand," Danny cut him off gently, "Jerry we want you to do it."

Jerry's back straightened. His eyes widened and his brows rose high. Adam chuckled to himself at the air of disbelief from Jerry.

_Jerry._

"Me?" He repeated.

"You see any other Jerrys in front of us?" Danny smirked.

Jerry's reaction was expected. Mostly. He threw his arms around them and threw them both against his shoulders. Steve grinned at Danny over Jerry's shoulder, and Danny rolled his eyes. He patted Jerry's back to get him to let go. When he did, he was beaming.

"I'd be honoured!"

Danny grinned, "Alright! Crisis averted."

"But wait, Grace said it was my turn to be best man," Jerry remembered.

Danny frowned and sucked in his lip as he glanced about. "Oh, um - Adam? You’re best man."

Adam blinked in surprise. It was a bit sudden, but given the manic rotation of Danny's best men, they should have expected it to end up being whoever was closest at the time.

"Okay," he shrugged.

"That's settled then, let's get married," Steve declared.

Jerry practically sprinted giddily down the aisle as he ran to the head of it. Eric tilted his head and mouthed "you okay?" To which, Jerry beamed and gave him a thumbs up. Eric smiled back, and nodded.

For the few short moments that they were alone, Danny fussed over Steve. He always did when Steve wore his blues. He liked to tease that if Danny's thumbs were goofy, Steve's were plain stupid when it came to ties. Truth was Steve could tie his tie with one hand while eating oatmeal with the other. He had before hundreds of times. But he liked the way Danny focused on him, poking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he did, and ensuring his collar was smooth by brushing his fingers along his bare neck. He even adjusted the way his hat sat on his head to keep his eyes clear. Danny smiled as he did. Being this close made it easier to notice little things, like the nick by Steve’s ear where he caught himself shaving. At least he had shaved.

"So much for not seeing each other before the ceremony," Danny tutted.

"Does that mean that stupid no kisses before _the_ kiss rule is gone too, because I could really use one," Steve said.

Danny chuckled. Steve's patience was like everything else with him. All or nothing. He could wait ten years for Danny to be ready before he let him know he was in love, but he couldn’t wait ten seconds for a cookie to cool before biting into it, or five minutes more to kiss his husband. Yet Danny was nervous too and Steve could melt him with a smile, so Danny took pity. He reached up to kiss his cheek.

"Not what I meant," Steve muttered.

Danny's eyes shone back, "all you're getting until you say I do."

"I do," Steve smirked.

Danny rolled his eyes and smiled as he smoothed Steve's lapels. "Ready?"

"Almost," Steve said.

He turned to look for something, and stepped away for a moment. On a nearby table there was a vase of flowers. Steve eased a pulmeria with white petals and a touch of yellow in the centre. He quietly cut the stem with the pocket knife from Eric that he had kept in his inside pocket for luck. With his knife hidden away again, he turned back to Danny, and tucked the stem into his jacket like a boutonniere. Danny chuckled as he did.

"There. Now you're dressed for a wedding," Steve said.

The wedding party gathered themselves into order. By themselves I mean Grace. Grace ordered them to make things go smoother. She glanced at the grooms, urging them to hurry up.

Steve grinned at him. "You ready?"

"No," Danny lied, smiling.

Steve laughed back. "See you up there."

"You look great by the way," Danny said.

"You'd look better with a ring on," Steve winked.

Danny laughed brightly. "Goof."

Grace took Danny's hand and lead him into position. She set him in line and went back to fetch Steve. Mary paused as she passed by him, and smiled. Danny tilted his head at her.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. Just... the tie," she smiled.

Danny's hand moved to the knot instinctively, "It's a classic."

Mary just chuckled. Hawaii or not, you couldn't take his tie away. She moved past him, squeezing his arm as he went, and Danny smiled to himself. Mary had come far from being the young woman arrested on board a plane the first time he met her. He couldn't help feeling slightly proud of her for it. Behind him he heard Mary gasp.

"You’ve got one too?!"

"It's my uniform," Steve argued defensively.

Mary folded her arms and glanced towards Danny. "He put you up to it didn’t he?"

"Can anyone ever make me do anything I don’t want to do?" Steve challenged.

"Yes. Danny." Mary stated.

Steve felt his cheeks flush as Danny smiled to himself. He kept his eyes fixed forward, ready to head out after the best men. Grace had found a lint roller from somewhere and was taking it to Charlie while Joan giggled at his hushed protests.

"Mary, I'm kind of busy-" Steve began.

"I wanna walk you down the aisle," Mary announced.

Steve frowned. "You wanna what?"

"Look, I might never get married, and if I do, mom and dad aren’t around to walk me down the aisle, so this might be the only chance one of us gets to do it. I wanna do it," Mary explained, earnestly.

"That’s..."

Steve's eye moved past her, and onto Chin's shoulder. At the back of his mind, the incident in the car came back to him. His car. The one that never made it here. His father wasn't there to walk him down the aisle, but Mary was. All they had each other now. Steve blinked back tears that made his stomach hurt and forced a smile for her.

"I'd really like that Mary," he whispered.

Mary grinned. She stood to attention at his side, ready and eager to walk down the aisle with him. In his seat by the front, Eddie huffed.

"Well if she gets to do it!" He said.

Stella, Bridget and Clara frowned as Eddie climbed out of his seat to edge past them. They watched him go, but made no effort to stop him. He adjusted his tie to neaten himself as he headed to where his son was waiting. Eddie stepped firmly to his side to wait with him. Danny blinked at him.

"Pop what are you doing?" He asked.

"I know it's stupid to you, but I'd like to walk you down the aisle," Eddie said, calmly.

"I'm not a bride pop, I-" Danny began, defensively.

"I know. But you're my boy. I want to be a part of your big day. You don't get a choice, alright?" Eddie stated.

Danny blinked again. A smile broke out as he realised what his father wasn't saying. Eddie wasn't the kind of man who verbalize his feelings. He never had been. Clara had tried to raise Danny and Matthew to be the opposite, which was why Danny would butt heads with anyone who deserved it. It was also why he was careful to make sure he remembered to tell Charlie he loved him. Eddie wasn't comfortable saying he loved anyone, not even his children.  
But he would be there to stand firmly beside his son to walk him down the aisle whether he liked it or not.

"Sure. You can walk me down the aisle. I'd feel like a shmuck walking alone anyway," Danny smiled.

With that, Grace nodded to Jerry. Jerry nodded back, and gave Flippa a nod. Flippa took his seat, and left the string quartet to strike up their march.  
And Steve's stomach dropped into his shoes.


	12. Chapter 12

Steve wasn't sure why he was so nervous. It was essentially guaranteed that they would reach the end of this aisle, and walk out of here married. After everything they'd been through, after all this time, they wanted to be married now. There was an infinitesimally small chance that anything else would go wrong, and an even smaller chance that it would stop the marriage altogether. 

But there was still a chance.

Steve had been trained to expect any possibility no matter how remote. His breathing sped up and he automatically tried to regain control of it, which only made it louder. As he stood there in line, waiting to walk down the aisle, he couldn't stop wondering what could go wrong.

Joan went first, as planned. At the head of the room, Eric's camera clicked, capturing the way she expertly sprinkled the petals as she went. The crowd cooed, and she lapped up the attention. She played up to it, throwing the petals over her head and towards Kono as she passed by, reeling in the affectionate chuckling. 

"What a show off," Mary muttered warmly.

"Bit like someone else I know," Chin teased.

Mary kicked him in the back of the leg. He jolted slightly as he laughed. 

"Play nice!" Adam warned them both.

"He started it," Mary pouted. 

"I'm ending it!" Adam said firmly.

Chin laughed again and Mary giggled, which made Adam grin his sheepish grin. The sternness hadn't quite developed yet, but he could work on that. 

Charlie followed Joan. He held the pillow aloft, with the most serious expression he could muster too. This was a very important job, and he was taking it very seriously. The two rings on top of the cushion were presented clearly, for everyone to see. Even as they stifled their laughter.

Mary's eyes moved to the floor as she leaned past Chin and Adam to see who was next. A ribbon had fallen off of Grace's bouquet and down to get caught on her shoe. 

"Oh, let me get that," Mary whispered.

She darted forward and gently prized it off. Grace flashed her a grateful smile. She didn't want to look a fool. Especially since she was the only bridesmaid, and therefore had to walk alone. Mary winked back as she quietly skipped back to Steve. 

Grace raised her chin high, took a deep breath, and followed Charlie down the aisle. It was all moving faster than it felt, and Steve's stomach was beginning to ache. His eyes never left the end of the aisle. 

"Shall we go arm and arm?" Adam asked uncertainly. 

Chin flashed him a grin as he pretended to be disappointed. "Not back to back, like Charlie's Angels?"

"I find it hard to walk sideways," Adam smiled back.

"I supposed it'll have to be arm and arm then," Chin grinned.

"I love your ability to compromise," Adam said.

He raised his arm to his side as he spoke. 

"That's why you’re marrying me," Chin grinned.

He linked his arm through Adam's as he did. Adam snorted.

"We'll let Kono and Abby settle that one," he said.

Both of them took their pigeon stepping seriously as they continued their joke of the two of them getting married by walking in step with one another. It won snickers from the crowd, and made Adam's ears pink. Especially when Kono's phone joined Eric's camera in photography. 

Steve gulped. The others were reaching the end of the aisle now, which meant his turn was almost there. In front of him, Danny took a deep breath. He could see the way his shoulders rose and fell. Steve tried to copy, but his heart wouldn't settle. His fingers were tapping nervously against his cuff button.

"Ready?" Eddie quietly asked Danny.

"As I'll ever be," Danny nodded.

He smoothed his jacket once more and ran a hand through his hair again. Steve couldn't see where his hand went after that, but he knew Danny, and he could guess that he was adjusting his tie one last time. Eddie's hand laid across his shoulder blades as he gave him an encouraging pat on the back.  
Steve couldn't remember the last time John patted him like that. He had tried several times but the memory had slipped away from him. It wasn't important back then.

God he wished he could remember.

"Hey? You okay?" Mary whispered. 

Steve's eyes had not left the Danny since he started walking, until now. He glanced at his little sister. Her eyes were big and bold, and full of concern. He couldn't find it in him to lie.

"I'm really scared. What if I mess up again? What if Charlie gets hurt next time? What if Danny can never forgive me?"

"Danny's forgiven worse."

"What if someone gets hurt?"

"Steve, you're not Dad. You're never going to do what he did. And you'll never fake your own death like mom either. You'll be better, because you know better. Things won't go wrong. If they somehow do, you and Danny will work your way through it together, I'm sure of it."

Steve's jaw fell open as he failed to find a response. All day he had been thinking about his father and he had never stopped to think why until right this second. He didn't want to be like John anymore. He didn't want to keep secrets from his family and lose touch with them for years. He just hadn't realised until now. But he also couldn't image a world where he would let that happen. Mary knew him too well. But he was grateful for it.

"I'm really glad you’re here," he muttered.

She snorted, but her cheeks flushed. "C'mon bro, let's get you married."

The mild delay in their following meant that Steve was slightly further behind Danny than he was supposed to be. It gave him time to look at the rest of the people standing in front of him.

The way Joan was scattering the last of the petals over Charlie's head. How he dusted them off of the rings, but managed to miss the one behind his ear. How Grace gently bonked Joan on the head with her flowers to stop her. How Adam had stepped to the side with Chin, but was staring ahead holding in a laugh like he'd just heard an inappropriate joke. He probably did if Chin's grin was anything to go by. The way that Jerry filled the frame of the bamboo arch wrapped in flowers that he waited under, smiling eagerly. 

Steve took it all in, and allowed their expectant smiles to settle his chest. But it wasn't until Danny reached the top of the alter, thanked Eddie, and turned back to look at him, that Steve's doubts drowned completely. Danny's goofy grin could outshine the sun, and the way his eyes lit up with love was enough to melt stone. 

Enough to win a megawatt smile back. 

Mary held onto Steve's wrist at the reached the alter. He paused to look down at her. She reached up to his head so he would bend for her and she could remove his hat. She laid a kiss in the middle of his forehead, and grinned at him as he laughed. She turned to Danny, and grinned wider. Danny laughed back. 

Mary had left a pink lipstick mark on Steve's forehead. Eric zoomed in to get a shot of Steve looking bemused. He barely snapped it before Danny took a tissue off of Jerry, licked it damp, and cleaned it off. 

"You can't even make it the length of a room without getting dirty huh?" Danny teased affectionately.

The front row chuckled. They were the only ones who had heard it. 

"You may be seated," Jerry declared. 

The crowd settled into their seats. The wedding party joined them. Rachel leaned over from the second row to kiss Charlie's head and whisper well down to him. He shrugged her off as Joan giggled.

Steve and Danny held each others gaze. Danny's knees bounced slightly as he stood there, trying not to sway too obviously. Steve was still holding his hat to his stomach, but his hands were working their way along the brim, turning it nervously. 

"Nervous?" Jerry smiled quietly. 

"Yep," Steve admitted.

"Terrified," Danny agreed. 

"Then we'd better get started!" Jerry grinned. He cleared his throat and addressed the entire hall. "Dearly beloved. Friends. Family. Ohana. I have not had to officiate a wedding in a while and this was rather last minute so I apologise if I'm a little rusty."

Now that they were safely in their seats, not being presented in front of everyone, Chin leaned closer to Adam. 

"Adam?" He whispered. 

"What?" He whispered back.

"The guy in grey on the end, on the left three rows back, ysee him?"

Adam carefully and subtly turned his head to try and see two rows behind him. He wasn't really sure who he was, but he had seen him lingering around.

"Yeah?" Adam whispered back.

"That’s him. That's who grabbed me," Chin said.

Adam twisted in his seat again to try and see him clearer. Kono raised her chin at the movement, wondering what had grabbed his attention. 

"What'd you think he wants?" Adam whispered again. 

"Not sure. Nothing good. I don't think he's armed though," Chin warned.

"I'll try and cuff him to his seat," Adam said.

Chin frowned, "You brought cuffs?"

"You brought a gun, I brought cuffs, we all knew what to expect today," Adam said.

Chin opened his mouth to respond, but closed it afterwards. Adam quietly stood up and edged around the side to casually wander over to the suspect. Unfortunately he'd not been as subtle as he tried to be. As he crept closer to him, the man stood up and edged quietly towards the aisle, away from Adam.

"Now for the scary bit," Jerry teased.

"Do we have to?" Danny sighed. 

"It gets it out of the way, just let him ask," Steve said.

Danny rolled his eyes, "go on then."

Adam scowled at the man in the middle of the room. He clicked the cuffs in his hand like castanets. This stranger was edging his way to the centre aisle. To follow him meant climbing through the rows of seats and disturbing more people. Adam would need to cut him off some other way.

"Does anyone know of any reason why these two should not be married today?" Jerry asked.

While the crowd were looking at each other, waiting for the ceremony to continue, Adam didn't want to draw more attention to himself. He edged quietly towards the back of the room, tracking the strangers movements.

And then the man threw his hand into the air.

"I do!"

The crowd murmured between each other as Danny and Steve rolled their eyes. Chin and Adam shared a tense look. Chin's hand moved to his gun. The movement made Kono adjust her positioning to clear her shot. Tani and Junior moved to crane their necks to see more. Eddie held Clara in her seat as she tried to kick off. Vito muttered something about needing popcorn. 

"You, uh, you what?" Jerry asked uncertainly. 

"I object!" He repeated, firmly.

Steve and Danny frowned at him, and glanced at each other to gauge their reactions. Both looked suspicious which took them by surprise. 

"Um, on wh- what grounds?" Jerry asked. 

"That man is not who he says he is," the stranger declared. 

He pointed at the head of the room, and neither groom was entirely sure which of them he was pointing at. Steve frowned. It couldn't be Danny. Danny only had one secret. If Steve could know the secret of how Matt's killer had really died and still love him enough to marry him, whatever this guy thought he knew was nothing.

"Steve?" Danny asked quietly. 

"Whuh?" Steve murmured, baffled.

"Have you been lying to me for ten years?" Danny asked, holding in his amusement. 

Steve's eyes snapped onto him. He completely missed the way Danny was trying not to laugh at him. Ten years they had known each other, tracking through Steve's life together. Steve had been there through every major event and Danny trusted him explicitly. 

Plus they were in a room full of detectives. If Steve wasn't who he said he was, they would know. Right now though, Steve had been thrown through a loop, and blinked in surprise that Danny didn't seem to know this guy either.

"Me- I - I don't know this man," Steve said. 

"You don’t know-" Danny turned back to the man, and pointed to Steve, "he doesn't know you."

"He wouldn't. I'm a private investigator. I was hired by _your wife_ ," He declared.

The murmuring grew louder. Jerry wasn't sure how to continue or react because this had never happened to him before. No one else really was either. 

"Oh I definitely should have brought popcorn!" Vito declared. 

"Is that why you tied me up? Because you’re a private dic-" Chin's words died as he glanced at Charlie, "A PI?"

"I had to, you were going to stop the truth getting out there and allow this, this, this - _bigamy!"_ He cried.

"That's not very big of him," Eddie grinned.

"Really pop? Now?" Bridget asked, drily.

Steve shook his head, wrinkling his nose, and looked like he was having an aneurysm. The PI strolled around the aisle like a strutting peacock, enjoying the storm he was creating around him.

"Steve what the hell is he talking about?" Danny asked calmly.

"I don’t, uh, I don't know. I don't have a wife. You get married and forget?" Steve asked.

"Did I forget- are you forgetting who you’re talking to?! I got married once, and it took _you_ for me to risk it again!" Danny huffed.

"What you think I'd actually forget getting _married?!"_ Steve cried.

"You've got a lot of history I'm not allowed to know, you've been undercover in foreign lands-" Danny began.

"You’re joking right, tell me you're joking," Steve demanded. 

"Then there's the whole sensory deprivation thing-" Danny continued. 

"No way anyone was dumb enough to marry Steve before you domesticated him!" Lou argued.

Steve would usually have been offended by the accusation, but today he just gestured to Lou as if that back up his point. 

"You're the only one out of the two of us who ever got married," Steve said firmly.

Danny turned lazily to the crowd and gestured openly towards the PI. "Rach, did you hire this putz?"

"No, wasn’t me," Rachel promised. 

Eddie had had enough. If no one else was going to deal with this, he would. 

"Alright you, let's talk outside," he growled. 

He grabbed the PI by the collar to drag him towards the exit. The PI's face filled with alarm as he grappled to regain his balance. 

"Slug him Grampa!" Grace yelled.

 _"Grace!"_ Rachel gasped, horrified.

Grace winced, "Sorry Ma."

"Slug him pop!" Stella cried.

"Everyone here deserves to know the truth! Tell them, or I will!" His voice was strangled as he was dragged out.

Despite the jeering, Steve was still affronted that anyone would accuse him of something like this.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" He demanded. 

"Give it up Ryan, I have the certificate here!" The PI yelled.

He reached into his jacket pocket to grab a piece of paper and brandished it like a weapon into the air. In doing so, he failed to notice the sudden louder confusion in the muttering around them. 

"Who the fu- _who is Ryan_?!" Steve yelled desperately. 

"Ryan- _you’re_ Ryan!" The PI cried back.

"Pop- Pop stop!" Danny called.

Begrudgingly Eddie released the PI from his hold. He choked slightly as he gasped for air. Everyone else was on tenterhooks.

"What'd you just say?" Danny asked.

"Aren't you Ryan James?" The PI asked between breaths.

" _I'm Steven McGarrett_!" Steve cried, "He's _Daniel Williams_! We don't even know a Ryan!"

"Actually I know a Ryan, but I'm not, I'm not him though," Danny countered.

There was eager tittering through the crowd as the PI's face fell into confusion. The realisation slowly dawned on him. While it did, the crowd around him jeered. The heckling had swung back from shocked to mocking. He had become the fool.

"I'm at the wr- I'm- this is the wrong- I’m at the wrong wedding, I'm at the _wrong bloody wedding_! Sorry, I'm so sorry, I- Sorry!"

The snickers eupted again as he raced out of the room like a spider on a hotplate, clinging to the paper as he went. As the doors slammed behind him the entire room froze. The silence that hung around them was paralyzing. Stunned. Someone definitely needed to shatter it. 

Which is why Tani stood up to call, "Carry on Ryan, you’re in the clear now!"

And the room exploded into desperate laughter, filled with pure relief that something had broken the tension. Except for Steve.

"Not funny!" He yelled.

"You tell her Ryan!" Vito yelled back.

The laughter turned to howls. Mary was almost crying with laughter. She was glad her eyeliner was waterproof. Beside him Danny snorted. Steve's head snapped round to stare at him.

"This isn’t fu-" Steve barely got that fair before Danny's infectious laughter caught him, he was grinning as he insisted, "this isn’t funny!"

Despite his protests, he was swept along with the laughter. Danny laughed so hard he had to reach out to Steve for support. Steve laughed louder as Danny's head thudded against his chest.

Danny gasped in some air between laughs and cried, "oh I think my heart stopped for a second there!"

"You didn’t believe that guy-" Steve began. 

"No chance!" Danny snorted.

"Good!" Steve beamed.

Jerry cleared his throat and the grooms attempted to settle down and regain control of themselves. The tears were still edging their eyes, and even though they laughed so hard their cheeks hurt they couldn’t help grinning.

"Should I start again?" Jerry asked.

"Yes," Danny said.

But at the same time Steve argued, "No, no, we're already behind-"

"Get on with it, some of us are only here for the party!" Bridget yelled.

"It's been ten years dammit, get married already!" Kono agreed.

The murmurs from the crowd were in agreement. 

"Carry on Jerry, before something else derails us," Danny muttered. 

"Right, ri-um..."

Jerry glanced down at the notes he had been given and flicked through to where they should have been. It gave everyone else a moment to adjust back to the quiet affectionate atmosphere they had barely managed to create during their parade up to this flowery arch.

"If you could join hands," Jerry said.

It was hard to hold hands when Steve was still clinging to his hat. Danny took it from him and reached up to tug it into position on his head. He had to go on his toes to reach, but gave a satisfied nod as he lowered himself. Steve was smitten.

Danny and Steve reached out to hold theirs hands in front of them. Danny couldn't help feeling slightly self conscious at the way Steve's eyes were ingesting him. The joy and the love in them were loud and unashamed. But the wink was just cocky.

"In island culture we use handpicked flowers and twine to create a lei. A bond created with love, that is a beauty to behold. It is that same bond between these two men before us today. A symbol of the aloha we all share with them, and they with each other," Jerry announced. 

He paused. Danny and Steve waited. Jerry cleared his throat. Nothing happened. He leaned to the side and used one hand to cover his mouth.

"Where are the leis?" He whispered. 

Grace's eyes widened as she suddenly remembered that they existed. "I forgot the leis. I meant to ask the florist- I got distracted!"

Eric whistled to her. When she looked, he held up two leis hanging on his arm. Grace leapt to her feet and hurried over to grab them.

"Where did you-" she began.

"Best you don't know," he assured her.

Grace took his word for it. She took them anyway, gratefully, and hurried over to Jerry to hand them over. He took them, and mimed wiping sweat from his brow.

"Phew!"

There was a chuckle through the crowd.

"Ryan wouldn't have forgotten the lei," Tani muttered. Junior elbowed her playfully to shut her up.

Jerry lifted the leis for everyone to see. The ones they were supposed to have were blue, these flowers were white and purple, which was close enough. 

"The exchanging of these leis marks the respect and love you are weaving unto your own lives from this day forth," Jerry continued.

"Respect?" Kamekona muttered. Flippa gave him a look that said, "apparently!" but said nothing. 

Danny had grown to appreciate the giving and receiving of leis. They were a mark of respect and admiration. Sometimes people would give them to him, lay them across his shoulders, just for helping to close a case. In gratitude. Something he rarely got in Jersey. Deep down he admired the flowers too. They were a quiet way to make something grander, and he liked it. A simple beauty. 

The two of them exchanged leis. They were supposed to kiss the others cheek as they did, but the way Steve's hand brushed against Danny's cheek made him wonder how close to his mouth Steve was going to land. It was close, but it was still his cheek. Danny dared to plant his far closer to the corner of Steve's mouth. The mild shiver that ran through him was unnoticeable to anyone but Danny. He smirked as they moved back into holding hands. It was beginning to feel a little cheesy, but far more real than it had moments earlier.

It was only made realer when Jerry cleared his throat again.

"Steve, I'd like you to repeat after me," he said.

Steve licked his lips as his stomach flipped. Danny kept smiling though. There was nothing that could stop that stupid love stuck grin of his.

"Do you Steve, take this man to be your partner in life, to have and to hold, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

Steve let out a breezy chuckle. It was such a ridiculous question. Throughout the long, long years they had been partners, from at least the very second day, the answer had been yes. And they had proved it, time and time again. Come rain or shine. Through the restaurant failures and the radiation poisoning and liver transplants, Doris, Matty, Charlie's sickness, Grace's car accident, through thick and thin, good and bad they were in it together. 

It was the easiest question he had ever been asked.

"I do."

Even though he had known the answer, hearing it said made Danny's eyes well up. A small ball formed at the base of his throat as he looked up at the goofy idiot he had waited so very, very long to stand here with. Steve grinned back.

"Danny? Do you take Steve to be your husband, for as long as you both shall live?"

For the first time in forever, Danny couldn't see the end of this. He couldn't picture how this could go wrong, or where they would end up. He couldn't see divorce papers. He licked his lips as he swallowed back the ball, and nodded. 

"Yeah," his voice cracked, making Steve smile wider if that was even possible, "I do."

Steve rushed forward across the gap between them to try and kiss Danny, but Jerry had anticipated this. He stuck out a hand and pushed Steve back by the chest. 

"Not until the end buddy," Jerry warned.

Steve pouted but their guests laughed. When Steve looked their way, his chest warmed to see how many had tissues in their hands. Junior had an arm around Tani, pulling her in against him as her mascara rolled down her cheeks. Even Kono was grateful her eyeliner was waterproof. She hadn't bothered with mascara. 

"Who has the rings?" Jerry asked.

"I do!" Charlie threw his hand up eagerly.

Another warm chuckle ran through the room. Chin leaned in and ruffled his hair.

"Excellent job Charlie, but I'll take it from here," he said.

Charlie was reluctant to let him take the rings, but he didn't fight it. There was a party after this an at that party was cake. He didn’t want to have to wait even longer for it. Chin handed the rings to Danny, who handed one to Steve. Jerry took it from him and held it up for all to see.

"A ring is endless. It had no beginning. It is eternal. By its shape alone it is a symbol of the love you two share. Endless," he declared.

Danny dared a glance at Rachel. She had a wry smile, but it was warm. It was honest. Danny felt a strange kind of tug of affection to see her look so happy for him. Because deep down he knew it was true. As much as she had hurt him, and as angry as he made her, there was still love there. But when Danny looked back to Steve, he was flooded with it. Steve's love knocked him down and carried him away, while he smiled.

"Place the ring on Danny's finger, and repeat after me," Jerry said. 

Jerry said the words loudly and clearly so that everyone would know what was being said. Steve, however, couldn't find a way to raise his voice above a whisper. Because this moment wasn't a declaration to the world that he was in love. This moment was a quiet, emotional promise to the man he loved, and only the man he loved. Only he needed to hear it.

Steve's hand was gentle as he eased the ring along Danny's finger.

"With this ring, I pledge to you my love and devotion... I bind my life, and my heart to yours, for now- and forever more. With this ring, I marry you."

It was like a drumbeat on Danny’s chest. The simplistic way that Steve had whispered, the catch in his voice as he did, that was enough to leave Danny breathless. But then Steve had to go and brush a kiss against the back of his hand.

Danny lunged forward, attempting to close gap between them and pull Steve into the kiss he was so desperate to share. Jerry hadn't been anticipating this, and very nearly missed his chance to prevent it. Danny grunted as he was pushed back. Steve just laughed a shaky chuckle and blinked back the tears brimming his eyes.

Danny took Steve's hand, and cleared his throat to try and clear the stubborn ball from it again.

"With this ring..." 

The words melted in his mouth. He twisted Steve's ring where it sat neatly on his finger. Jerry's heart raced in alarm as he wondered what the pause was for. Steve was less concerned. 

"I don't want to read from a script Steve," Danny said, quietly. 

"Then don't. Just say what matters," Steve said.

Danny smirked at how easily Steve reassured him.

"I don't know how I got lucky enough to find you... but I'm glad I did. And it doesn't matter what happens now, because I love you. I'll never stop loving you. And this ring..." he twisted it again as he swallowed. He couldn’t bring himself to look away from it. "This ring is my promise to you of that. With this ring, I marry you."

The words were barely more than a whisper, but that was all that was needed. Danny and Steve just stared at each other, lost in the moment. It was just them. In love. Together. And now it always would be.

"I now pronounce you, husband and husband."

Jerry's voice broke them out of their spell, and they utterly beamed all over again, before crashing into one another in another desperate kiss. The cheering of the crowd only grew as they parted to steal another couple of smaller kisses. The rose to their feet to applauded louder, between wiping away tears. The entire room was vibrating with adoration.   
Danny and Steve beamed idiotic grins at one another, with utter delight and love in their eyes.

They had done it.

They were finally married.


	13. Chapter 13

"That went well," Steve said to Danny as they posed for Eric. 

Danny's face tangled in contention. "You think?" 

"About as well as... it could have been worse," Steve shrugged. 

"Yeah, there could have been a volcanic eruption," Danny agreed sarcastically. 

"But there wasn't," Steve said, grinning. 

"Maybe we could have used Charlie's lucky stone after all," Danny muttered.

Steve frowned, "Huh?"

"I'll tell you later," Danny promised. 

Chin picked some confetti out of his hair and let it fall to the floor. They had been using dried petals as confetti for the photos and they got everywhere. Although they were an absolute explosion of colour, he wasn't sure he wanted to wear them. He was fairly pleased not to be Eric, or either groom. All three had been right in the middle of the mess, and it showed. 

"Did anything go right today?" Chin asked.

He had missed a lot of the day after all.

"Yes, my food. And there was alcohol," Kamekona declared, "Speaking of which, a toast!"

Where Kamekona had managed to stash a bottle of his own brand wine to share out now, none of them bothered to question. If anyone could sneak a business plan into a private event it was him. 

"To who?" Adam asked.

"To us," Kamekona declared.

"Us?" Tani repeated. 

"Despite everything today threw at us, we got them married. That deserves a drink," Kamekona nodded.

He reached Kono, and she placed her hand over the glass, "Oh, not for me. Mahalo."

Eric's ears perked up. He took a couple of steps closer, leaving Danny and Steve staring into one another’s eyes in their soppy pose, without telling them.

"Hold on, you're not drinking?" He challenged.

"I’m designated driver," she shrugged.

"You’re never designated driver," Chin scoffed.

"There’s a first time for everything," she countered.

"And you weren't drinking at the party either... plus you've got that kind of post vomit shame in your eyes-" everything clicked, and Eric was certain he was right now, so he gasped theatrically, "Kono! Are you- are you _pregnant?!"_

"Of course she is you idiot, isn't that obvious?" Lou scoffed.

Kono looked surprised, but Chin and Adam just laughed again. Adam wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her affectionately. 

"Well we kept that under wraps way longer than I thought we could," Adam said.

"You're friends with Detectives who love you, you really think you can keep secrets? I just assumed you wanted it kept quiet, so I did," Lou said. 

"Max just said congratulations," Kono said.

"Congratulations!" Tani beamed.

Hugs started flowing and the cheers cried out at they shared in yet another delight. Max raised his head from inside the bar at the cheer. When he had stopped to question the signs that she was pregnant, she told him not to tell another because no one else knew. Clearly that wasn’t the case anymore, but just in case he had misread the situation, he stayed inside. 

"Another toast!" Kamekona cried, and raised his wine as high as he could, "To the keiki!"

"The keiki!" They chorused, and toasted together. 

The noise had caught Danny and Steve's attention, but Clara and Eddie had joined them for photos and they couldn’t get away to investigate. 

"If it's a boy, Kamekona's a good strong name," Kamekona said.

Kono laid a hand on his arm gently, "Kame, we love you, but not that much."

"I was thinking of the name Hiro," Adam said.

"For a boy or a girl?" Junior asked.

"A boy," Adam said. 

"We'll talk about it," Kono said.

That was a nice little code for, we're not doing that. 

"What about a girl?" Junior asked.

"Kame," Kamekona said, stubbornly. 

"I like flower names. Something like Dahlia," Adam said.

"Tulip. As in Tupuola," Kamekona said.

"Or maybe not," Kono said.

"Vito's a great name. Lil' baby V. What could be cuter than that huh?" Vito declared.

The group widened to allow him in. He held out a glass to Kamekona, who just poured in the wine and warned him supply was limited. One more glass and hed start charging. 

"This isn't open to the floor you know!" Kono complained.

"Keep me in the loop, baby pools are always lucrative, everyone likes the hope for the future," Kamekona said.

"Speaking of, you owe me! I told you someone would forget the flowers," Junior grinned.

"Technically it was just the leis. But it's a good day, so I'll cut you a break. Here. Twenty big ones," Kamekona said.

He handed Junior a note. Junior held it up to the sky to check it out. Kamekona made a point of sounding offended. Junior ignored him. He had to make sure that he hadn’t given him more vouchers for the shrimp truck again.

"I had Vito pawns the rings and can't get them back so Kamekona has to track them down and make a deal," Lou said.

"Hey!" Vito complained. 

"You did try and pawn the rings uncle V," Eric argued.

"But I wasn't trying to get them back, I was trying to upgrade them!" Vito argued. 

"It was the cuff links he was trying to pawn," Eric said.

"I feel foolish now," Tani complained, "I had shark washes up on beach during the ceremony with a belly full of diamonds."

"Funny, I had Diamond head spontaneously erupting," Junior grinned.

"I had jealous ex, but to be honest I thought it would be Danny or Steve's not some strangers," Kono said.

"Poor guy," Junior muttered. 

"Poor guy?! Danny was gonna shoot him! He’s lucky is what he is!" Kono argued. 

"Not that lucky, he got the wrong wedding," Chin said.

"Poor _Ryan,"_ Junior corrected. 

"Ryan shouldn't be getting married if he’s not divorced, poor Ryan's husband!" Tani argued. 

"I had bomb threat," Adam said.

"Really? I had real bomb!" Lou said. 

"Did you think it would be a vengeful perp we put away too?" Adam asked.

"That or Sang Min mixing up addresses. He still won't wear his glasses," Kono said.

"Did he get an invite?" Chin sounded surprised.

"Yeah, but he said he was too busy to come. I haven’t heard from him in a long time," Kono said.

"Last I heard Hirsch was offering him a job," Eric said.

"Last I heard he was going back undercover," Lou said.

"Ah, once a CI always a CI. It's the only way to keep yourself alive," Kamekona said.

"You’re doing pretty good legally," Junior said.

"May I remind you all forms of gambling are illegal on Oahu. This, this is gambling," Chin countered. 

"Don’t be a spoil sport," Tani pouted.

"I’m not, I had a bet too," Chin smirked.

"What'd you bet cuz?" Kono asked.

"Drive by shoots out grooms car so he’s late to the wedding," Chin said.

"Well he was nearly late," Kono nodded. 

"So were you at ours," Adam pointed out.

"I was preventing a nuclear bomb attack!" Kono argued. 

"I didn’t say it wasn’t justified, just that you were late," Adam winked.

"His car didn’t even make it here," Junior said.

"Wasn't a shoot out though, just a crappy car," Chin said.

Danny nudged Steve and gestured to the crowd chatting together eagerly. They wandered over, but slowed to hear their conversation. 

"Pilot has heart attack and crashes into wedding."

"That’s a good one!"

"What about ship sinks off shore and half Steve's side swim out as rescue?"

"It could have happened. There's so many naval uniforms in that crowd you'd think we were commemorating pearl harbour!"

"I had drunk uncle ruins cake."

"You were half right. The cake's ruined."

"It is not!"

"Then what’s all over Charlie?"

"Someone else’s cake," Steve announced. 

"Which I'll have to pay for!" Danny complained. 

"Steve! Danny! Hi!" Vito yelped.

The others tensed up in alarm as they arrived, but the jig was up. If they hadn’t known about the gambling before, there was no denying it now.

"So none of you thought that this day could go smoothly? Not one of you thought our one big special day could go off and whatever hitches happened would be controlled by our crew? None of you thought that we could make one day work?" Danny demanded.

He folded his arms across his chest and gave them all the sternest look that he could muster. Some of them - Adam, Chin and Junior - had the decency to look ashamed. The others though shrugged it off. The couple knew Kamekona as well as the guests did, they should have expected this.

"Be fair bruh, you bet you wouldn’t get the deposit back!" Kamekona smirked.

And just like that the attitudes spun on a dime. Danny's hands fell to his sides, and Steve folded his instead. 

"Oh so you're betting on failure too huh?" He challenged. 

"In my defence, we're probably not getting the deposit back," Danny shrugged. 

"If it went smoothly it wouldn't be our wedding," Steve grinned back.

"Night's not over yet bruddah," Kamekona warned.

"Don’t say that! Nothing else can go wrong or I'll go insane!" Danny groaned.

Grace hung out of the doorway to look around the hidden garden to try and find the chef who was supposed to be finishing up in the kitchen.

"Kamekona are you done yet, we're starving!" She complained. 

"My eager public awaits," Kamekona declared.

He followed her back inside, and the others trailed in like sheep following a shepherd. The hall had been transformed, filled with round tables to welcome people in together. The seating arrangements had been the main source of arguments while planning. That was essentially thrown out of the window by guests who decided to swap seats around and choose where to sit themselves. Danny darted forward to pull out a chair for Kono. 

"Sit down Kono. Take the weight off your feet," he said.

"Stop fussing Danny," she said, but she took her seat.

"Yeah, that's Adam's job," Junior teased.

Danny picked up the jug of water and filled a glass for her. Adam chuckled to watch him. He made a mental note to pick his brains over how to make sure Kono was taken care of over the next few months.

"This is why I didn't want you to know until later," She sighed.

"I've known since about an hour after you landed Kono, you’re not as subtle as you think," Danny smirked.

"Known what?" Steve asked.

"None of your business-" Danny began.

"She's pregnant," Adam beamed proudly 

"She’s _what?!_ You’re pregnant?! That's amazing! I’m so happy for you, congratulations!" Steve beamed. He leaned down to hug her tightly again, and then pulled back to ask, "Does that mean you're staying?"

"You were going to leave?!" Danny gasped.

Kono had been asked to return to the mainland and help set up a taskforce that would bring together what she learned from Five-O, and what she learned from her anti-trafficking force. Adam had been reluctant at the idea. Kono had asked Steve his opinion, and it boiled down to exactly what Kono had expected. 

If he were being selfish, he'd tell her not to take it because he would miss her, but she had to do what felt right to her. What was best. Although he couldn’t help hoping this would tilt the scales.

"I haven’t officially decided anything yet, but... this is my land. This is my ancestors home. I want my baby to have the same connection to it that I do," Kono admitted.

Her hand fell gently to rest on her stomach. There was hardly any suggestion that there was a life growing in there, but they had been fooled by less. 

"That’s awesome kono, I'm so proud of you. I’m gonna be an uncle Danny!" Steve elbowed him gleefully.

Danny grunted as he rubbed the spot that had been hit and argued, "You’re already an uncle!"

"Again!" Steve beamed, "Is that what all the questions were about Adam?"

"What questions?" Kono asked.

"I'm... I’m a little... I’m terrified," Adam confessed. "Being a dad is all I've ever wanted, I don’t wanna mess it up."

Kono stared at him for a moment, and then laughed under her breath, "Thank God, I thought it was just me! I was watching Danny being a parent even at his own party and I just... I've never been so needed before. This baby is going to require all of my attention, and I've never done that before!"

"You give your whole attention to everything you do Kono. You always have. You're gonna be a great mom," Adam assured her.

"If I am, it's because I've got a great partner," Kono smiled.

She reached out to take his hand, and he smiled back, and reached in for a kiss. Steve grinned at Danny, and copied. Junior smiled at Tani. Tani smiled back.

"Don’t even try it."

"Danno, Steveo, you're meant to be over there," Grace interrupted.

"We're going, we are, we're on our way," Steve promised. Grace hummed dubiously and turned away as someone else called her over. Steve leaned towards Danny. "Think she'll usher us through the whole wedding like this?"

"I think she'll usher us through our whole lives like this," Danny said.

Steve smiled at the idea, but he was pretty certain that she wouldn't manage to keep both behaving their best forever. They headed towards the table at the head of the room, where they had placed themselves between arguments. 

From the head of the room, surrounded by their family, they could keep an eye on the kids table at the same time. It had taken a lot of stubbornness to prevent Steve trying to drop Tani and Junior at that table too. Maybe they should have though, because Charlie and Joan had already gotten into a battle over the bubbles that had been left on their table. One bottle of bubbles were at each seat at the kids table but they had run around and gathered up as many as possible to battle each other with soapy liquid. 

Mary sat at the head table too, and watched the way the children tackled each other with the breadsticks that Kamekona dropped on their table. It wasn't worth getting involved.

Table manners were forgotten where Kamekona's food was concerned. He served food well, presented as neatly as he could be bothered with, and the guests inhaled it. No one had eaten for hours and once the opportunity arose, they didn't waste it. They got so wrapped up in eating that no one was really sure how much time passed before Chin clinked his glass to get everyone's attention. 

However behind him they could see a glorious crimson sunset painting the sky beyond the bay windows.

"Aloha everyone. I'm Chin Ho Kelly and it is my honour to be Steve's best man," he announced. 

There was a scattering of applause for him, so he smiled and nodded.

"I'll try and keep this brief because I know you're all keen to get dancing," he said.

"Here here!" Vito yelled.

He went ignored by everyone but Bridget who quietly smacked him round the back of his head.

"I first met both Steve and Danny a long time ago, on a day that would change my life. But I've actually known them both for much longer than that. Steve's father John, who unfortunately couldn’t be here tonight, was my partner back when I was just a rookie for the HPD. He used to go on and on about his boy and how proud he was of him. Took me to a bunch of his football games too. I had to watch this man steal the title I have earned just a couple years earlier - but it was worth it. I could see even back then how much skill this man had, and how valuable he was going to be wherever he ended up. When that turned out to be the navy, I cant say I was surprised. When he became a SEAL, I wasn't either. When he made his way to commander... Steve's ability to rise through the ranks didn’t surprise me in any way. He has always been pig headed and stubborn and willing to fight for not only what he wants, but what he believes in. John used to tell me that Steve was a fine solider, because he was a fine man, and that's why he was proud of him."

Steve sniffed quietly as he held back his tears. All he ever wanted was to make his father proud. Danny's chest warmed for him as he reached over to squeeze his hand. 

"My own career took a bit of a battering after that so I wasn't on the force when Danny arrived, but I had friends who were. They were keen to tell me all about this new haole from the mainland who had been put on my partner's case. They didn't think he'd take it seriously. Now I knew Duke would only put his best man on it, and I didn't doubt that. Whoever this Detective Williams was, Duke must have thought he was one of the best."

"I was right!" Duke cried.

There was another cheer and a scattering of applause from the guests.

"So I warned Steve that he might have an argument on his hands if he wanted to be involved. Back then I had no idea how right I was, because ten years later, these lolos are still arguing!"

Another jeering cheer made Danny ane Steve share a knowing smile. They had ways to settle those arguments now. They were more fun than the yelling too.

"But that's not all they do, even if it seems like it is sometimes. I have seen these men go through hell to recuse one another, I went there with them to do it. I've seen them lose family, friends, co-workers, and businesses. I've seen them go through betrayals that would throw anyone else to the ground never to get back up. I’ve seen them broken hearted. They've seen me the same. Time and time again, each of them have picked me up, dusted me off, and helped me back to my feet. And I know they’ve done the same to each and every one of you too, but none more so than each other. Because despite all the lows, they weather each storm, and I know they'll get through every one coming, and come out the other side still together. Still in love. And I hope you two know that if you ever stumble, and need someone to pick you back up, I will be there. Because we're ohana. To the McGarretts!"

Chin raised his glass and the guests copied him. All but one anyway.

"The McGarretts!" Steve beamed.

"The Williams!" Danny corrected.

Steve grinned at Danny, "another argument to have."

Danny chuckled, lifted Steve's hand entwined with his own, and kissed his knuckles, "can't wait."

"Adam, your turn," Chin winked and held out his microphone. 

"Oh, no, I just grabbed Adam, he hasn't had time to write a speech-" Danny began.

Adam stood up, tugged his jacket smooth, and took the microphone. 

"Aloha everyone," he said into it.

"Adam, what are you doing? Sit down," Danny urged, quietly.

"You really think we didn't plan for this?" Adam teased, away from the microphone. 

Danny's face fell. "You d- what did you do?"

Adam grinned as he stepped towards the space that had been cleared for the dance floor. 

"I'm Adam, I'm the current best man for Danny. You may remember me from the ceremony. I’ve known Steve since his good friend Joe White helped my father to fake his own death, and I tried to shoot him in revenge. I've known _Danny_ since around the same time too."

"Oh God," Danny groaned.

"He was the good cop to Steve's bad. It was a rocky start, but Danny has become one of my dearest friends. He welcomed me to the ohana thanksgiving football, he let me steal some of the precious time he had to share with his son over Christmas, and he gave me a job to help me up when I hit rock bottom. Whenever I needed Danny he was there."

"Aw, Adam," Danny cooed.

"But he didn’t pick me to be his best man," Adam continued, breezily.

Danny's shoulders sagged, "Alright, well, extenuating circumstances-"

"Shh," Steve whispered. 

He weaved his fingers through Danny's as he did. Danny begrudgingly attempted to oblige. 

"Danny has a problem with giving up control," Adam continued.

"No I don't actually-" Danny began.

"As you can tell by the way he keeps trying to control my speech," Adam added, pointedly. 

Danny's words died, but his jaw hung open and the people around him snickered.

"He got you there man," Steve smiled.

Danny grumbled and pulled his hand away from Steve's pointedly. 

"It's okay Danny, it's alright, we get it. You like things a particular way, and you wanted someone who would take control and make up your mind for you when you couldn't. Someone who would butt heads with you, and force you to compromise. Someone who would pretend to listen, do the opposite, and put up with your complaining even though deep down you prefer their way. Your best man should have been Steve," Adam said.

"Yeah!" Steve cried, beaming.

"I dis- I strongly disagree," Danny stated. 

"Anyway, all the people who you had asked to be your best man gathered together, and we agreed that there was no point in each of us writing a speech for you, so instead we wrote this one that I'm currently saying," Adam explained.

"It's terrible so far," Danny said.

"And we decided that each of us only needed one sentence of our original speeches to give a full picture of how much we all love you even if you are a pain. Can the other best men please join me?"

There was a clattering of seats as almost an entire table stood up and formed a line along side Adam. Danny wrinkled his nose as he watched them all line up. It was essentially the whole team. As he chewed his cheek sulkily, Steve howled with laughter and threw an arm around him. Eric ran forward and fell to one knee to get a shot of the whole line. Then he ran forward to join it, making Steve laugh louder. Danny sank into his chair. 

Adam handed Eric the microphone first, so he could say his piece and focus on the photography.

"My uncle Danny always has and always will do anything to help anyone, which is what makes him a good cop, and more importantly, a good man."

Eric handed the microphone to Junior, who was next in line. 

"Danny Williams has a heart of gold that he keeps hidden beneath a mountain of curmudgeon."

There was a quiet chuckling around the room as Junior handed the microphone to Kono.

"Danny would do anything for family, even embracing the ocean that he hates so Grace wouldn't have to surf alone."

Kono smiled warmly at Danny. He was sinking into his seat, but his eyes were shining with affection. She handed the microphone to Jerry.

"Danny and Steve began Five-O together to save the island from crime. They did so by giving a home to a bunch of outcasts who needed someone who believed in them, and saved _them_ in the process."

As cheesy as that sounded, it was the thing that struck Danny hardest. When Five-O was formed to save the island, he hadn't known how much he needed saving at the same time. He had forgotten how much every other waif and stray had needed them as much as they were needed. He sat up again to hear the rest, with a renewed interest. Until Lou took the mike.

"Daniel Williams has never paid me a single penny of what I have won from poker with him, but it's no wonder when Steve leaves all the paying up to him. He's gotta be broke!""

"Hey!" Steve complained. 

"It's true man."

Lou said it directly into the microphone while staring Steve down before he handed it to Adam.

"At the lowest point in my life, when I was struggling with the loss of my wife, and the death of a half sister, Danny was there for me, because he didn’t want me to feel alone."

Adam wrinkled his nose as he took a step back. He felt he was just repeating himself. Kono squeezed his hand affectionately, and Adam raised his head to look at her. The smile followed naturally. Tani took the microphone and swished the hair out of her eyes.

"I truly believe, from the bottom of my heart, that Danny and Steve are the best parents Five-O could ever wish for."

Steve sent her a wink that made her smile. Their running joke of Tani and Junior being their kids was rarely verbalized in reverse, but it made Steve undeniably proud that they saw him that way. Tani let the microphone slip as Max took it.

"Mahalo. Together Detective Williams and Commander McGarrett have solved countless cases and saved many lives. This is because they make such an excellent team."

It was short, simple, and honest. With a nod, he handed the microphone back to Adam, and stepped back into line.

"Danny once said that he couldn't let Grace leave the island because without her he had no one, and this island would feel empty. Detective Williams, before you stands eight people who all agreed to be your best man because of how much we love you. Beside you sits your husband. Your daughter and your son helped make this whole thing happen. We have to ask. Does it feel empty now?"

Nothing felt empty anymore. In fact Danny had never felt more full. Full of love, full of tears, full of food, he couldn’t even find the words to answer. He just shook his head as Steve put his arm around his shoulders and chuckled. 

Eric took the microphone in one hand, and raised a glass in the other, "To my dear uncle and the partner he never wanted. To Danny and Steve!"

Another cheer went up, which covered Steve's voice as he pointed out that the speech wasn’t that bad, and Danny reluctantly agreed. Grace hopped to her feet and took the microphone from Eric. He winked at her as she did.

"Oh God what now?" Vito grumbled.

"Shh!" Stella and Bridget snarled.

Typical sisters. They were deeply enjoying seeing their brother made a fool of. Danny sat up as Grace took the stage though. Almost everyone knew what was about to happen. Even if they hadn't noticed the projector that had been wheeled in, they remembered the texts and emails about photos, and it wasn't hard to figure out what was about to happen.

Grace took the stage with elegance worthy of her name, and she refused to look as shy and exposed as her thumping heart made her feel.

"I think everyone here knows me, if not hi. I'm Grace. I’m Danno- um, Danny's daughter. Now Steve's step daughter too," Grace said.

"And my sister!" Charlie called.

"And Charlie's sister," Grace chuckled nervously, "Um... back when I was in high school, back when I still used to call him _Uncle Steve,_ mom put together a PowerPoint of photos of me growing up for my graduation. There was a big party, some of you were there-"

"Yes sistah!" Kamekona cheered.

"Like Kamekona, was. Anyway, Steveo projected it onto a big screen in his yard so we could all watch it together. Now, I had a little help with this- by which I mean I had a _lot_ of help with this - from Uncle Jerry, Uncle Kamekona, Uncle Chin and most importantly, Aunt Mary. Now, if you'd please turn your attention to the big screen behind me- _KAMEKONA!"_

Grace didn't need the microphone to yell at him. As the large screen slowly decended from its mechanics behind her, it was supposed to be a plain white sheet. It was not supposed to have _Kamekona's face_ watermarked onto it. 

"It's all in the publicity bruh!" Kamekona beamed.

Grace groaned in helpless frustration at him. Jerry glanced around to see if anyone was going to fix it, but no one else seemed certain how to. He stood up and hurried over.

"Hey, watch this," he said, playfully. 

He took the neck of the winch that was holding the screen up, and rolled it on its wheels until it had turned all the way around. On the back of Kamekona's face, was a nice, big, plain white sheet. 

"Ta dah!" Jerry beamed.

"Jerry saves the day again!" Steve whooped.

"Yeah Jerry!" Danny cheered. 

"Spoil sport!" Kamekona muttered.

Grace breathed a sigh of relief and said, into the microphone, "Thank you uncle Jerry."

"Anytime," he waved a hand like it was nothing.

"Okay, as I was saying, please enjoy these photos. Max, can you- mahalo," Grace finished.

She ducked out of the way as Max started the projector. Eric hit play on the audio, and as the first photo faded into existence, A Groovy Kind Of Love crackled into the air, winning painful groans at how cheesy it was.

The first photo in the slideshow was Danny in Jersey. He was sat on Vito's knee as Eddie combed his hair and he gummed at a wooden letter block. He was barely teething. 

Danny groaned and hid his head in his hands. He didn’t need to look up to know who had done this.

 _"Ma!"_ He complained.

"What?! It's my favourite!" She beamed back.

"Aw c'mon Danno, it's all in good fun," Steve teased.

Danny groaned again as Steve pulled at his shoulders to make him sit up and watch. Steve had expected this. He was delighted by this. Danny's family had come together to showcase photos of him as a cute little kid, just to embarrass him now. Because that's what family was for right? And Danny had family. Lots of family.

What Steve had forgotten about, was that he was marrying into this family, and they had a secret weapon he had already forgotten being mentioned. 

_Mary._

Steve grinned eagerly at the screen as the image of Danny dissolved into another photo. A more familiar scene came with it. It looked like a quiet corner of the McGarrett house, but from years ago. Far longer than Danny had ever been on the island. Because it was. Steve's smile fell as he recognised the half nude toddler wearing a police badge between his nipples, hair as spikey as a pineapple, and a proud beam. 

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT?!" 

Danny beamed at Steve. "What was that about good fun?"

_"MARY?!"_

"Happy wedding day big bro!" she beamed back, raising a glass.

There was no sense of shame on his face at all. If there was anything, it was pride. Pride at the ability to finally make her brother turn scarlet. 

Steve pouted furiously and slumped low in his seat as the other guests cooed at him. Danny lit up. He wrapped an arm around Steve, and kissed his blushing cheek. He felt a lot better knowing it wasn't just him being embarrassed for a change.

"Aw, look at you lot... you've all gotten so big," Clara sighed wistfully.

The photo had changed to one of Danny and his siblings. All of them. Stella wasn't able to sit up alone yet, so she was in Matt's arms, but Danny was standing beside him, looking down at her protectively already. Bridget sat in front of them on a stool, smiling wide to show off a gap in her teeth.

Steve sat up again. Maybe being embarrassed between photos of Danny being embarrassed would be easier to bare. It didn't stop the red hot flush of his cheeks every time a new photo of him appeared though. 

The next one was fishing. John was in it, helping him hold up his catch. Steve was dressed as a boy scout. Even though John was there to help him, his face was still easy to read. His pride was outweighed by the alarm of being inexperienced. This was his first big catch. He had no idea how to handle it.

"You really were a boy scout?" Danny sounded surprised. 

"I told you I was," Steve said.

"I don’t think I believed you," Danny confessed.

The next one showed Danny as a teenager, showing off his biceps, shirtless. He even growled for it. The trouble was that he was in his garden, his his lips were turning blue, and he didn't have any biceps to show off.

It bled into a photo of Steve and Mary. Steve was still only young, and Mary was little more than a toddler. The two of then had fallen asleep together on the couch. Tiny and innocent, they slept peacefully. 

Danny was aging more rapidly than Steve, and no one really noticed enough to question it. The next one of him was in the Academy. He had his arm slung around a fellow officer that Steve vaguely recognised as Officer Peralta. From what he could remember, Danny had been good friends with him all through their training, and had begun dating him at the end of it. Danny glanced at him nervously, but there was no flicker of jealousy. Instead, Steve smiled.

"You're so cute in your uniform," he teased.

Danny glanced at screen, and grinned. "Speak for yourself."

The sudden jump in Steve's age went unquestioned. He was suddenly a teenager, joining the navy on a bright sunny day, saluting down the camera at his aunt. Some of his old navy buddies - Junior included - shouted hoorah, at the photo.

Steve just tilted his head at the photo, and sighed to himself. Danny glanced at him. He didn’t need to ask to know what he was thinking. 

From this age on, there weren't any photos of Doris. There were too few anyway, but she was dead, and then she was avoiding being known, and in that time it was safer to never take a photo of her. 

Doris may have been a terrible mother, but still was one. It hurt to know she wouldn't be part of his big day.

"You okay?" Danny asked quietly.

Steve watched the way the photo dissolved away to show Danny in his fresh new uniform, laughing brightly as he blew out the candles of a birthday cake.

"Yeah," he whispered back.

His eyes never left the screen, so he didn’t notice the way Clara eyed him uncertainly. She wasn't sure why he looked so forlorned, but she knew he shouldn't be down on his wedding day. She reached out to squeeze his hand. 

"You were always handsome then?" She smiled.

Steve looked at her in surprise. She gave him a warm smile, and it made him want to smile back.

"Yeah, yeah. Danny's lucky to have me," Steve said.

Danny snorted, but Clara laughed. She reached over to pinch Steve's cheek gently. Steve's chest warmed. All thoughts of what he lost left. What he had gained mattered more.

As if reading his mind, the slideshow morphed from a photo of Danny looking shell-shocked as he held a new-born Grace in his arms, to a selfie of Steve pulling a goofy look and Grace throwing up a shakra behind him. It was from the first time Steve had picked her up from school alone, and Danny demanded photographic evidence that she was unscathed. She was eight. Steve beamed at the memory and looked up to find Grace grinning back. 

The photos had found their way into Hawaii now. Gasps of recognition went up ten fold as people began to pick themselves out in the photo. Kono and Chin leaned their heads against one another when the old photos of the office still mostly in boxes appeared. They laughed at the newspaper cuttings of their first big case, the drugs bust.

Photos of the four of them out surfing while Kono held the camera at an angle to fit everyone in, changed as more people crammed into both the team and the frame. Old friends like Lori appeared and vanished just as fast. Catherine made an appearance, with Danny's arm around her shoulders and Steve's around her waist. Jerry appeared, as did Hirsch. Over time the background became clearer, and fewer people filled the frames, until it was just Steve, Danny, Grace and Charlie. Then Grace and Charlie vanished too. 

The slideshow ended on a photo of Steve hugging Danny around the middle and smiling at the camera and Danny unable to stop smiling or pull his eyes away from him.

"You really love me huh?" Steve teased.

Danny rolled his eyes, "only if there's a Y in the day."

Steve grinned at him, his gaze soft and full of love. Danny felt his cheeks flush as he kept staring.

"Would you stop, we're in public!" He complained.

"I love you too," Steve smiled.

He reached over to lay a kiss on his cheek and Danny gave him an embarrassed grin. He adored how tender Steve was these days. The wolf had been domesticated and now he was as soppy as Eddie.

"Mahalo, we put a lot of time and effort into that. Now, I know no one wants to follow sappiness with more sappiness, but I'm sorry I don't care. As long as we're all happy and warm inside, he's not going to be as mad at me because I have a request."

Grace's voice didn’t break through. She frowned as she looked at their table and found her fathers making googly eyes at each other. She cleared her throat. They didn't stop. Clara knocked on the table in front of them. The looked up, and suddenly realised everyone was staring at them. Once again, their faces turned red.

"Get a room!" Stella called.

"You have two!" Bridget called.

"Carry on!" Danny urged.

Grace shook her head but obliged. "Traditionally the father daughter dance at weddings is between the father of the bride and the bride, but uh, this isn’t exactly a traditional wedding, is it?"

There was a mix of murmuring and laughter from the guests. Steve smiled to himself. He remembered the last time Danny had been expected at a father daughter dance. It was easily one of the worst days of their lives. It was also the day Danny asked Steve to look after Grace for good if something happened to him.

It had been too terrifying to take in at the time, but once the reality of the statement hit him three days later, Steve was honoured. 

If any dance needed a do over, it was that one. Grace deserved a dance on a day where Danny hadn't nearly died first.

"And I know the couple haven't had their first dance yet, but whatever. I would be honoured if you'd dance with me, Steveo."

Steve's head snapped up in alarm. That was an option he hadn’t taken into consideration. He was taken back completely. 

"Really? Me?" He blinked in surprise. 

"Well, you are my father aren't you?" She giggled.

Steve's chest rose and fell but he didn’t take in much air. The whole parenthood thing still hadn't fully sunk in yet, but it clearly had for everyone else. He glance at Danny, as if asking for permission. 

"Go on, don't leave your daughter waiting," Danny urged.

Steve rose to his feet, daunted. He smiled, despite how breathless it left him. _His_ daughter. It was official. It had been a private idea for nearly a decade and now it was official. Grace was his daughter. Grace handed the microphone to Jerry as Eric hit next on the playlist. 

Steve wasn't entirely certain what to do as the music struck up. Grace giggled as she realised how uncertain he seemed. They had danced together dozens of times, but that was silly uncle stuff. This was _fatherhood._

Grace slipped her hand into his and gently guided his other to her waist. She laid hers on his shoulder, or as best she could anyway. The steps just happened by themselves. Steve stared at Grace in awe. 

After everything she had been through she was still so full of love and joy and aloha that she didn't think twice about him being her father. He always had been. And he was proud to be it. To be the father of someone as smart and kind and loving as she was. Who wouldn't be?

It felt like just yesterday he had met her for the first time at that game. It was so long ago he couldn’t even remember what sport they were watching. She was so small back then, and the only thing she was sure of was that her father was in charge of everything. 

Now she was at college, learning in depth about the sea creatures they used to talk about while he taught her to dive, and she was sure of herself and those creatures, and she was growing up and she was going to get a job and she was going to get married and have a family and a life of her own, and Steve was so very, very old and very, very proud. And so utterly terrified.

But he loved her so much it hurt.

Grace tilted her head at him and held in a laugh, "You gonna cry Steveo?"

"Maybe. Probably. Yes, yeah, I am!" Steve laughed back. 

"It's okay to cry Steve!" Clara called from the sidelines, "if you don't, you'll explode!"

Danny laughed, but Steve didn't hear either of them. A tear ran down his cheek as his hand moved from her waist to brush against her chin. He tilted her head forward enough to lay a kiss on her forehead. He pulled her closer against him with the same arm. He kept their free arms outstretched to pretend it was still a dance and not a hug he never wanted to let her out of.

"I love you Gracie," he whispered. 

She chuckled warmly against his chest. "I love you too Steveo."

The two of them only split apart because Charlie stamped his foot at the end of the empty dancefloor. 

"I wanna dance too!" He demanded.

Steve sniffed and wiped a tear back as he broke the dance enough to hold a hand out to Charlie.

"Come on in then buddy!" He said.

Charlie eagerly dove in between them, turning their tender dance into something that had a vague resemblance to a square dance. The guests chuckled to see it, but Danny stood up.

"Well don’t leave me out, it's my big day too!"

As the small family danced together in a strange kind of circle, Tani took Junior by the tie and lead him onto the dancefloor. Now the gates were open, the dancefloor was flooded. The kids broke away as Grace danced with Eddie and Joan tackled Charlie. It left Danny and Steve dancing alone together.

"Can I lead, just once?" Steve complained. 

Danny shook his head, "No. You can lead me into battle, you can drive my car there, but you cannot lead my dance."

"Oh so this is where you take control huh?"

"No, unlike you, I don't need to be in control of everything."

"Then let me lead."

"No."

"Fine." 

"You gave up easy."

"Well, its not hard. I'd follow you anywhere."

"Shmuck."

Danny heard Steve chuckle from where his head was resting against the curve of his shoulder. It vibrated through his chest. Danny smiled to at the sensation. 

"Does this count as our first dance?" He asked.

"Technically, I think it does," Steve shrugged.

He was only half listening. Grace had waved across the room to get Charlie to follow her and it caught his interest. The two of them were posing together in front if Eric, goading him to photograph them together. Steve wasn’t sure why, but it was nice to see them share a common aim together. 

"Damn, and after all that time I spent practicing," Danny tutted.

Steve's attention turned back to the man in his arms. "You learned to dance for me?"

Danny snorted at the tone of surprise. He pulled back enough to look him in the eye. "Don't you get it by now? I'd do anything for you."

Steve lit up. He adjusted his position to fit against Danny properly, like they were about to dance rather than just hold each other and shuffle their feet. 

"Then show me what you got!" He challenged.

Danny smiled shyly and shook his head, "Actually, I was thinking about what Pop said at Christmas. About how I've lived on this island for more than a quarter of my life and I haven't really learned anything of the culture-"

"You surf. You paddle board. You've even picked up some of the slang- you told me that beaches and palm trees is what this island is supposed to be, and you like the tiki bar. I know there's Hawaii in you. You don't have to prove it," Steve assured him warmly.

"I wish you said that before we learned a hula," Danny groaned.

Steve's eyes widened. "You le- a hula? You- _now._ Right now! Do it now! I wanna see it now!"

Danny laughed, "when did you say you wanted to see it?"

"I'm serious, put your money where your mouth is, prove it, whatever makes you dance!" Steve insisted. 

"I don't have music," Danny countered. 

"Hey Flippa!" Steve yelled.

Danny shushed him as he drew the attention of the guests around them, but Steve had a mission now and he wouldn't stop till it was a success. After explaining it to Flippa, he didn’t seem convinced it was a good idea. 

"You sure haole?" He asked, pointedly.

"No, I'm not sure, but I am sure that he's not gonna shut up until I do," Danny said.

"True," Steve beamed.

"Whatever, your funer- wedding," Flippa corrected, quickly.


	14. Chapter 14

Steve eagerly cleared the dance floor as Flippa reached for his ukulele. They left Danny standing on his own in the center of the floor as everyone else crowded the edges. Steve's solid grin had only grown in anticipation. 

Danny's stomach knotted itself, making him feel sick. They had been planning this in secret for months now, and he was desperate to get it right. He didn't want to look like a fool, and he didn't want to accidentally offend anyone. Steve's eyes were fixed on Danny. He didn't notice Grace pointedly elbowing Eric. She didn't need to. The moment that the dance floor cleared to give Danny a spotlight (literally, when Jerry found the lighting controls) his phone flew to his hand. Still photography wouldn't be enough for this.

Danny took off his shoes and stood with his feet hips distance apart and his hands in front of his hips. Kamekona picked up his shoes and set them safely aside. He was certain that the man was going to embarrass himself, he didn’t want him injured too.

"Is he gonna-" Tani began.

"Oh yeah!" Steve beamed.

"Does he know-" Junior began.

"Oh no!" Steve beamed.

"Oh God," Lou groaned.

Kamekona sat on the edge of the raised band stand and took the drum that Flippa handed him. 

"You ready bruh?" Flippa asked.

Danny chewed his lip nervously and gulped. His gaze met Kono's in the crowd. She smiled back at him, pride already in her eyes, and winked. That confidence was enough to reassure him.

"As I'll ever be," Danny nodded.

Kamekona gave a tilt of his head and Flippa took a deep breath. This was either going to be hilarious, or painful to watch. He wasn't sure which.

"Go on Danno!" Steve cheered.

As the beat started, Danny lifted his foot from the ground and swung his hips in the opposite direction. Clara gasped and giggled in delight to see her son let loose without being full of alcohol. Danny stomped the ball of his foot and swapped feet to swing his hips in the other direction. 

Adam wolf whistled from the side, an action which followed Bridget and Stella's loud whoops perfectly.   
Danny was slightly clumsy as he tried to rotate his torso and tap his foot at the same time, but he managed to stop himself stumbling, which won applause from Kono. He took a step left, back to the middle, a step right, and back to the middle.

"He actually has been practicing," Grace sounded impressed.

"You didn’t think he would?" Eric challenged. 

"Let's just say I owe Aunt Kono a dollar," Grace smirked.

As Danny repeated his steps to each side and back to the centre, Charlie tugged on Chin's sleeve. 

"Now?" He whispered.

"Not yet," Chin said.

Charlie twiddled his thumbs nervously. He glanced over at Grace. She showed no signs of nerves, but she had already kicked off her shoes. Charlie quickly copied.

Danny's hands moved from his hips up across his chest as he twisted again. For a second he locked eyes with Steve, who was grinning madly. It warmed Danny's chest to see the pride on his partners face, which eased his bones and smoothed his moves. 

"See that?" Mary nudged Joan, "that's what Mommy used to learn instead of ballet."

"You did?" Joan looked up at her in awe.

Mary nodded proudly. Of course she had been Joan's age last time she even attempted to hula and she didn’t really remember any moves now, but she did remember the look of rapture on Steve's face when she dragged him into dancing with her. It has soon melted into one as worlds away from the rapture as the he was wearing now.

Danny kept his arms as straight as he could as he moved them across his chest. Something about it vaguely reminded Lou of the time on the beach when they watched Steve signalling to the Russian sub with flags.

"What's it called when you use a flag-" 

"Semaphore," Junior interrupted.

Lou raised an eyebrow as Junior correctly predicted his question before he even finished it. Junior gave him a sheepish look.

"Waving flags to communicate? That's semaphore," he said.

"I see its not just me who thinks this looks familiar," Lou muttered.

"His arms are tense, he's nervous," Junior said 

"Wouldn't you be?" Jerry challenged. 

Again Danny took a step to each side and back to the centre, and then dropped to one knee and held his arms out in front of him, as if inviting people to join him. Chin tapped Charlie's head.

"Now."

Charlie didn’t need telling twice. He wriggled through the crowd to join his sister who had already made it through. Each of them took a place at Danny's sides, and raised their arms, just as they had been taught. A cheer went up to see them. Eddie beamed proudly. Steve threw his head back and bellowed with laughter. He was so delighted he could burst.

"Do a twirl!" Vito yelled.

As Danny focused on his arms, Grace and Charlie planted their feet and swung their hips in opposition directions, mirroring each other. Charlie's face was deeply focused, almost grumpy, but his movements were smooth. He had practiced far more than any of them had expected. Kamekona and Flippa shared a look as they continued playing.

"Well that explains his sudden enthusiasm for hula music," Rachel chuckled.

With his children beside him, also trying to perform without looking as clumsily as they had in rehearsal, Danny felt more at ease. Across the room, Chin caught Kono's eye he nodded towards the dancefloor suggestively. She smiled, and nodded.

The two of them had spent weeks trying to teach the little family how to hula over Zoom. It was a way to stop Steve getting suspicious of Danny constantly leaving the house and being away for hours at a time, or Rachel questioning why Danny wanted Charlie to stay with him when it was her time. Although, surprisingly, none of their parents had questioned the fact that Grace had started picking up Charlie from school more often, and every time she did they got home at least an hour and a half late.

Chin and Kono slipped easily through the crowd and eased the positioning from a line to an arrow, with Danny as the point. The two of them at the back were clearly more experienced, even if they weren't as well practiced for this particular dance.

All five of them finished in synch, which set the crowd off into cheers and whistles and whoops all over again. Kamekona elbowed Flippa to say something quietly. Flippa nodded along as he did.  
Danny beamed, panting as his family crowded him again. Eddie threw his arms out wide and threw a hug around him.

"You embraced the culture! It took long enough, but you finally did it! I’m proud of you son," he thumped him on the shoulder, beaming. 

Danny gave him a sheepish smile as he rubbed his now aching shoulder. "Thanks pop."

"You did so good," Clara kissed his cheek, "the kids did so good!"

Kamekona whistled to get Charlie to look his way. "Hey, Mini-D. Come here, your uncles want a word with you."

Charlie blinked in surprise, but walked over without question. The two men sat him down, and made him an offer he wouldn’t refuse. 

After his sisters finished teasing him for wasting his twinkle toes by not joining them in their dance classes as kids, he finally reached Steve. Steve beamed at him, love struck all over again.

"That was awesome," he said.

Danny's chest warmed with delight at his approval. "Mahalo."

"You're awesome."

"Mahalo."

"I love you."

Steve was drunk. Danny could tell by the way he let his whole weight crash against Danny as he moved in for a kiss. Danny held him up and chuckled against his kiss. Steve's hands moved across his waist and down to his ass as he deepened their kiss. Danny was willing to get lost in his embrace, until Charlie tugged at his jacket eagerly.

"Danno! Danno, Danno, Danno!"

"Mmf-" Danny pulled away, mildly disappointed to have to, and looked down at his son, "yeah bud?"

He was keenly aware that Steve's hands had only slipped halfway back up to his waist as their attention turn to the boy. He was bouncing with excitement. 

"Uncle Kamekona and Uncle Flippa said they'll teach me for free!" he beamed.

"Do it," Steve said instantly. 

Danny ignored him, "Teach you what?"

"Who cares, if Kamekona will do it for free that's wanna see!" Steve sniggered 

"Hula!" Charlie beamed.

Steve straightened up as he and Danny were both taken by surprise at the boys enthusiasm. 

"You really wanna learn hula?" Danny asked. 

"Yeah," Charlie nodded eagerly. 

"Then if Uncle Kamekona and Uncle Flippa are willing to teach you, I won't stop you, but you have to be respectful," Danny said, firmly. 

Charlie gasped with delight, spun on his heels and cried, "He said yes!" 

Across the room Kamekona and Flippa threw their arms in the air to cheer with him. He ran over to hug them both eagerly. Danny and Steve watched him go. For two large gentlemen such as Kamekona and Flippa, they were experts at being gentle. Charlie was almost as wide as Kamekona's arm but when he hooked him up with it, it never hurt. The two of them hoisted Charlie up between them to tell him stories about how hula came to be.

Danny smiled to himself.

It was strange to him to think about how much both of his kids loved this island and it's culture when he had resented it so deeply so for long. Charlie had never known any different. He adored what he did know, and he wanted to know more. They had friends that were more like family and were only too happy to share with him. 

The older he got the more he reminded Danny of Steve. That was as pleasing as it was terrifying. 

As if reading his mind, Steve tugged at his waist and chuckled into his ear, "And you said you have no Hawaiian culture in you."

"I don't. Neither does he really. But if he can learn respect for the island from native Hawaiians maybe he can be better than me," Danny said.

"No one's better than you," Steve moved to nuzzle Danny’s neck.

Danny chuckled as he peeled away from his grip, "okay, you're being really soppy, so either man up, or I'm cutting you off for drinks until I can catch up."

"Hold that thought," Steve murmured. 

Danny frowned as Steve moved past him. Their hands lingered until their fingertips were too far to touch anymore. Clara wandered over and laid a hand on Danny's arm.

"What's he up to now?" She asked.

Danny watched as Steve climbed up onto the band stand with Kamekona and Flippa, staggered, and almost fell off. Charlie latched onto his jacket to hold him up. Steve beamed and patted his head affectionately. 

"I have no idea," Danny muttered.

Clara chuckled to herself. She really had grown fond of Steve, as if he were one of her own. Watching him put himself out like this was entertaining enough but knowing it was leading somewhere possibly insane was titillating. 

"Excuse me everyone," Steve said into the microphone. 

"What's that idiot doing now?" Vito groaned.

"I believe he's going to perform a song for us," Max said.

"God I hope not," Vito muttered.

"What makes you say that?" Junior asked.

"Simple, he's joined the musicians. And I believe I've seen that guitar in his office before," Max said.

Tani looked up and nodded in agreement as she recognised the old instrument waiting for use behind Flippa. She and Junior had heard him play it once, but he had stopped when he noticed them and never played it again. 

"Whatever happened to getting married, eating, drinking, dancing, and fucking off huh? Why's everyone gotta perform these days?!" Vito grumbled. 

"This might be painful," Tani said.

"No, we heard him play before, he's good," Junior argued.

"No, he's excellent," Mary said, firmly.

She smiled in anticipation. It had been years since she heard him play but she could still remember it. Just. She used to adore it.

"Everyone's said today that Danny and I would do anything for each other and I wasn't sure how true that was until, well, _that!_ Um... some of you might know, but most of you don't that, uh, I used to be pretty good at the guitar. I never played live for anyone though, and I haven't picked one up in years, but I thought if there's one night I'm gonna be drunk enough to be vulnerable it's tonight, so Flippa, will you accompany me?"

Danny groaned softly, "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Clara asked.

"Can I skip out of my own wedding if the groom is being unbearably embarrassing?" Danny asked. 

"No, that's what you signed up for, this is your life now, suck it up," Clara said, firmly. 

"What if I really, really need to pee?" Danny asked.

"You want to interrupt a beautiful declaration of love because you need to pee?" Clara demanded.

"I don't," Danny said honestly, "I don't want to put him off being vulnerable because I know its the only thing that really scares him, but I also drank half a bottle of champagne, and I need to go!"

Danny made a move towards the bathroom but Clara latched onto his arm and held him back.

_"Don't. Move."_

"But ma-"

"My son is about to sing a love song to you, and I don't care if you wet your pants and I have to get you another pair from lost and found-"

_"Ma!"_

"You're going to sit there and appreciate how open your husband is being right now, because as you know it doesn't last!"

It was hard to argue that. Danny knew how easy it was to forget the romance when marriage dragged into the long term. He had experienced it. He had seen it in his parents. And Steve really did hate being vulnerable. It was easier when he was drunk, but he still didn't enjoy it. But at the same time, Danny was desperate for the bathroom. He looked at Clara. She wasn’t about to let him sneak out. He glanced at Steve. 

Steve had been less than understanding when Danny needed to pee in the car. It had - thankfully - been the only time since his twenties he ever had to pee in a bottle. Yet Steve had never told anyone. For all of his teasing, he knew when to keep his mouth shut. 

"HEY STEVE?!" Danny yelled across the room.

Steve snapped up at the call, and blinked in surprise as Danny gave a small wave to catch his attention. Steve leaned into the mike.

"Uh, yeah Danny?" He asked. 

"WAIT A SEC, I GOTTA- uh -" Danny couldn't think of a lie. His shoulders sagged as he threw an arm out, "honestly babe I just have to pee."

There was chuckling around him but he didn’t really care. As long as Steve didn’t think he was being abandoned at his most vulnerable, Danny could put up with being teased.

"Well then go," Steve said, "Protect your kidneys you could get an infection."

Danny raised a thumb, "Great! Be right back, love you."

"Love you too," Steve said. He swung a little to hard and staggered again, "Kame- whoa!"

"You okay?" Flippa asked.

Neither he nor his cousin made any attempt to help Steve stay on his feet. 

"Kame, d'you wanna play something while we wait?" Steve asked.

"How about drunken sailor?" Kamekona joked.

"Hilarious. How about Tiny Bubbles?" Steve asked.

Kamekona shrugged. "Whatever, its your wedding."

"If I had known Commander McGarrett was looking for performers I would have brought my keyboard," Max said.

"I thought you said keyboards were the unskilled cousin of the piano and no one could be expected to be taken seriously when playing one," Chin teased.

"I have grown to appreciate some of the qualities of the keyboard. Specifically it's ease of transport. Besides, I don't believe today calls for seriousness," Max said.

Rachel had told Danny once that it wasn't his sisters threatening her or Eddie quietly letting her know she needed to be willing to protect Danny too, or even Matt warning her that Danny was breakable and if she wasn't careful there would be repercussions that worried her. None of them would ever actually back up their threats. At least in her opinion they wouldn't. Not Eddie or Matt anyway, and the girls had their own relationships to focus on.

However on their wedding day Clara had taken her to one side for a conversation.

It boiled down to her family was precious and she wanted them happy, so if Rachel couldn't accept that she should carefully consider whether or not the wedding was worth going through with. Rachel had never been overly comfortable with Danny's family. They were kind enough people and they made her feel welcome, but they were always protective and loud and they - Clara especially - liked to hug. She never felt like she clicked with them enough. 

Clara had been hoping to have this conversation with Steve earlier in the day, but certain situations - some carefully cultivated by Danny himself in advance - prevented her. While Danny wasn’t around to swoop in and stop her though, Clara wandered over to Steve. 

"Hey," she said, breezily. 

"Hey!" Steve beamed.

He sat down on the edge of the stage, with his legs swinging over the side and pulled her into a hug. Clara hadn't expected this, and instantly forgot what she had come over to say. He grinned at her.

"Having a good time?" He asked. 

She smiled. "It's been a beautiful day."

"Yes it has. I'm glad you could be here," Steve said, earnestly.

He squeezed her hand as he said it, and Clara tilted her head at him. It was a silent conversation. If it had sounded like anything, it may have been a click. Her hand cupped his cheek gently.

"I am too. I'm so glad that you've got someone to look after you Steve. I really wish you two all the best in life," she said.

Steve's chest warmed as he bowed his head low to kiss the back of her hand. "Mahalo."

Clara's hand moved from his cheek to his jaw to tilt his head enough for her to kiss his forehead. Steve's insides felt like they could sparkle. He adored forehead kisses, and none more so than hers. Eddie, overhearing them, joined her side and clapped his shoulder warmly.

"Welcome to the family son. We're proud to have ya," he nodded.

"Proud to be part of it," Steve beamed back.

And he was really. The only issue he had with it was that the name didn't fit right. No matter which way he morphed it, he couldn't get Williams to fit after Steven. He wanted it to. More than anything he wanted to fit fully into their world and be a fully fledged Williams, but he couldn't. He was a McGarrett. He was _Lieutenant Commander_ Steven Jack McGarrett. It was a title he had earned.

Lieutenant Commander Steven Jack Williams was a stranger. 

This all came spilling out in a drunken complaint to his new in laws, who just shrugged through it.

"I know how you feel. Well, sort of. Clara Kelly wasn't a name I would have chosen, but it was the one I lived with for my whole life until the day I married Eddie," Clara said.

"A rose by any name smells just as sweet," Eddie said.

Steve blinked at him, amazed. He was still swaying. "That's beautiful."

"It's Shakespeare," Eddie said.

"I know it's Shakespeare, I know it is, but you're right. Any other name won't stop me being me, and it won't stop Danny being Danny. Detective Daniel McGarrett rolls right off the tongue!" Steve declared. 

Clara and Eddie shared a silent, tense look. They knew their son well and they weren't convinced he was going to give up his name so easily. 

"That's an argument to take up with Danny I think," Eddie warned.

"One of thousands," Steve chuckled warmly.

"How much have you had to drink Stevie?" Clara asked, holding in a smile.

"Oh just... a lot!" Steve snorted, "it's okay, we booked a room here, neither of us are driving."

"I'm glad," Clara said.

Steve agreed, but he was ready for the argument now, and he would have continued it had he not noticed the familiar blonde hair marching back into the room.

"Excuse me," he said. He climbed back to his feet and back to the mike to ask, "Danny, you back? You good?"

Danny took his place at the edge of the crowd and held up his thumb. He had hurried to get back. Steve knew because his white shirt's sleeves were still rolled up to his elbows.

"Alright cool. You two ready?" Steve asked Kamekona and Flippa.

"You shoulda lined your stomach more before you started drinking man," Flippa said.

"Yeah, you're gonna have a raging hangover tomorrow," Kamekona agreed.

Steve waved a hand to waft that away as an issue, "That's tomorrow's problem."

Clara made a mental note to request two smoothies of her home hangover cure to be delivered to their room in the morning.

"So, everyone! This song is, uh, is a pretty familiar one. Elvis sung it in Blue Hawaii, but-" Steve began.

"The original is by Charles King!" Kamekona interrupted. 

"The big kahuna himself!" Flippa called proudly. 

"I was - I was literally about to say that," Steve complained. 

"Sorry bruh," Kamekona shrugged.

"The original lyrics are more..." Steve trailed off as he considered how to describe them.

"Poetic?" Kamekona offered.

"Beautiful?" Flippa suggested. 

"Open to the shared spirit of aloha?" Kamekona said.

 _"Personal._ Will you stop chiming in?" Steve huffed. 

"Forget it Steveo, you can't control this crowd," Danny called, from within the crowd.

"I'll drink to that!" Steve smirked. 

"Haven’t you had enough?" Vito called.

"Leave him alone, it's his wedding. By this time at yours you were unconscious!" Eddie countered. 

There was a ripple of laughter across the room as partners stopped to elbow each other pointedly. Since neither Abby or Malia were there, Kono took the liberty of elbowing Chin for them. He grinned sheepishly. Then Adam elbowed her.

"Anyway, um... like I said I haven't picked up a guitar in years, so any complaints, keep them to yourself," Steve said.

"Or bring them to me and I'll break your teeth in!" Danny declared. 

Vito nudged Eric and grinned, "That's my kind of love."

Eric rolled his eyes back, but he smiled to himself. If he ever found someone to love as much as he knew those two idiots loved each other, he wanted it to be like that too.

It was at that point he realised Noelani had slipped into the crowd without him noticing. He made a mental note to take her to one side and get some clear photos of her to prove she really was there.

She noticed him staring and gave him a smile and a slight wave. His stomach lurched at being caught, but he quietly waved back.

Steve cleared his throat awkwardly as he finished his conversation with his back up musicians. The two of them were acting as back up singers, but when the Hawaiian verse came in, Steve would let them take over because his was drunk and rusty and he didn't even want to attempt it. Danny shifted where he stood, and licked his lips as he watched his husband strum a guitar for the first time since he had ever met him. 

This is the moment (the moment)  
I’ve waited for (waiting)  
I can hear my heart singing (heart singing)   
Soon bells will be ringing (ringing)  
This is the moment (moment)  
Of sweet Aloha (aloha)  
I will love you longer than forever (longer than forever)

Promise me that you will leave me never (don't leave)  
Here and now dear, (now dear)  
All my love, (all my love)  
I vow dear (I vow to you)  
Promise me (promise)  
that you will leave me never (not ever)  
I will love you (I will love you)  
Longer than forever (longer)

U-a, si-la  
Pa-a ia me o-e  
Ko a-lo-ha ma-ka-mea e i-po  
Ka-‘u ia e le-i a-e ne-i la

Now that we are one (are one)  
Clouds won’t hide the sun (the sun)  
Blue skies of Hawaii smile (Blue skies)  
On this, our wedding day (wedding day)

I do love you with all my heart (all my heart I do)  
I do love you will all my heart (all my heart I do)  
I do love you will all my heart (all my heart I do)

"I do love you... With all my heart."

Both Kamekona and Flippa had dropped out as Steve stopped playing to say the last line, while looking directly at Danny. There was a beat for people to realise he had finished before they started applauding. Steve grinned back at them as he set his guitar aside and slid off the stage. 

"I've heard better," Kamekona said.

"Cut him a break cuz. He's drunk," Flippa said.

"I suppose I may have heard worse too," Kamekona allowed.

Clara and Eddie were the closest, so they squeezed his arm and patted his back to praise him as he passed. Tani just cheered louder and raised her drink as he got close and Junior made a show of applauding. Adam and Kono were beaming, Chin praised him warmly, Max nodded in approval, Stella and Bridget both raved, Mary said it was as good as she remembered, Vito said he'd heard better like this one time with Frank Sinatra- but none of them matter as much as one man's opinion. 

Steve moved through the whole crowd to reach Danny, who had moved towards the back of the room. It was quieter here. More secluded. Private. 

"What'd you think?" Steve asked, cautiously.

Danny smiled. His eyes flickered towards Steve's lips, but he forced his attention lower. His fingers twirled around Steve's tie as he drew him in.

"I'm so proud of you for being able to get up there and play," he said, earnestly.

"Yeah? But was it worth it?" Steve asked. 

"Was it worth it in what way?" Danny asked.

"Do you love me more now?"

"No. No, I don’t, but only because it isn't possible for me to love you more. You’re the second most important thing in the world to me."

Steve grinned. He could take second place, because he knew exactly who he was second to. Steve glanced out towards the dance floor to watch them. Charlie and Grace had chosen to dance with each other. Steve wondered if it had anything to do with the way Joan was chasing him around like he was a new toy to play with. Eric was taking a photo, which Steve was certain was going to end up on the wall.

Being second to them was the same as being number one really. After all, no one would ever outshine them. Steve didn’t want to. Truth be told, he knew deep down that he loved those kids more than he loved Danny too. 

"Steveo?"

The hairs on the back of his neck rose. It wasn't very often that Danny called him that, especially in that tone. He still loved Danny. He most definitely loved Danny. 

"Yes?" 

"What are the original lyrics?"

“Huh?”

"The original lyrics that are too personal? Too personal for a wedding somehow. What are they?" Danny asked curiously. 

"They're about being faithful and stuff, it's nothing, you get the gist," Steve shrugged. 

"Then why not sing that?" Danny asked.

"I already stood up in front of everyone here and promised to be faithful to you for the rest of our lives, I'm not about to sing it too," Steve said.

"But what uh... what are the original lyrics?" Danny purred, flicking Steve's tie back against his chin as he asked.

Steve laughed and glanced around awkwardly, "You serious?"

"Just a taste," Danny shrugged quietly. "Just for me, no one- no one else is around. Just for me."

Steve swivelled his head as he glanced around to make sure no one was around. Danny tugged him gently by the tie to make him follow as he ducked into a blind spot behind a pillar. No one from the party could see them hiding here.

"Go on," Danny urged.

Steve wrinkled his nose. He kept his eyes on the ground as he cleared his throat and tried to sing as quietly as he could. 

"Here I am waiting... Where is my beloved... I’ve searched for you. Now that I’ve found you, calm the-" he cleared his throat again, "calm the desire of my heart... sealed forever to you..."

Steve trailed off, but Danny kept stroking his tie so he couldn’t get away.

"Uh huh, keep, keep going..." 

Steve's glaze flicked up onto Danny. Danny had pinned himself against a wall. Not only was there no escape for Steve, but Danny wasn’t going anywhere either. And by the way his mouth hung ever so slightly open, and his hooded eyes followed Steve's lips, it didn't look like he wanted to go anywhere anyway.

"Carry on, what comes next?" He urged.

Steve blinked in surprise as Danny's urges, but he happily obliged them. 

"Sweetheart you are so precious... I pledge my love to you alone. I desire you. True to you alone. With you joy will ever be mine. _You’re mine_ , my lei..."

Steve's fingers curled into Danny's hair as he brushed some stray strands out of his eyes.

"Your lei?" Danny repeated, quietly smiling. 

"You're _mine_ , my lei," Steve said, relishing the possessiveness.

'You really mean lei?" Danny sniggered as he slipped against the wall.

Steve's hand curved deeper into Danny's locks as he pressed himself closer against him. "My fragrant lei. Drenched in the rain."

"Oh really?" Danny chuckled.

"Listen you, my heart’s desire, to the thought within me..." Steve's fingers moved towards the soft skin of Danny's temples, brushing a line along his flesh as he went, "Open the heaven within my body-"

"Within your body huh? You think I can really do that?" Danny's voice caught slightly.

Steve smirked as his hand trailed down towards Danny's jawline. "My flower, my fragrant lei. I will string and bind."

"That’s only way to open heaven," Danny forced a shaky laugh.

"Like the fragrant jasmine flower, you are my blossom," Steve purred. 

Danny closed his eyes and nodded, "Ah, your blossom." 

"My lei of lehua," Steve breathed.

"I don’t know lehua," Danny whispered.

Steve's hand pressed against the curve of Danny's neck as he rested his forehead against his.

"My desire is always to be with and close..." he whispered. 

Danny couldn't think of a retort but his breathing quickened as he felt Steve's head roll across his, tantalisingly closer to his lips. The corner of Steve's mouth curled into a smirk as his nose brushed against Danny's. 

"To my love my lei..." Steve's lips brushed against Danny's, as if it wasn't taking all the control he had to hold himself back. His voice was hardly a whisper as he breathed, _"You’re mine_... My lei... you’re mine."

Danny closed the gap in the end. He had to. Clinging to the wall like this wasn't holding him up. He had to drop Steve's tie and knock his hat to the floor to tangle his fingers in his hair. Steve's hand on his jaw moved to the back of his neck as his other yanked him closer. With the alcohol in him Steve couldn't take the full weight and pressed Danny back against the wall to support him. 

Just as easily as he started the kiss, Danny broke it, resting the back of his head against the wall to gasp for air.

"I can see why you wouldn't want to sing that in front of the whole ohana," he muttered.

Steve smirked. His eyes trailed across Danny's face, lingering on his lips, and thinking about what kind of moan he could elitist from his husband if he went for his earlobes right here right now. As if reading his mind, Danny flushed.

"Stop looking at me like that, we're in public!"

Danny nodded towards the room so Steve cast an eye to see who was close.

Grace had once again taken to the floor with Chin. He had danced with her when she was younger and she was keen to show how she had approved. Besides, he was alone at a wedding, and someone had to keep him from feeling lonely. Meanwhile Charlie and Joan had both taken to dancing with Max, who looked more like a deer on ice than a man trying to dance, but he was also having fun. Jerry was dancing with them too, and his moves were not much different to Max's, except he moved his feet less. Lou watched them for his own amusement. Eddie was dancing with Bridget while Vito danced with Clara. Stella had busted her way in to dance with Adam, which was fine by Kono. Her heels were really digging in now, so she, Rachel and Mary took a seat to the side to catch up. The only two he couldn't see were Noelani and Eric.

Steve tilted his head at Danny and purred, "No one's looking."

Steve bent down to reach Danny's neck again. Small, butterfly kisses there usually sent tingles through Danny that couldn't be fought. 

"It's our wedding Steve, people will notice if we skip out for fifteen minutes," Danny argued.

Steve shrugged between kisses. "Let them notice."

 _"Ma_ will notice," Danny countered.

Still pressed up against Danny's neck, Steve paused. The tension left him as he huffed, defeated. "Mmmf." 

Danny chuckled as Steve begrudgingly pulled away from him. He patted Steve's chest gently as he smoothed his tie again.

"Save it for the honeymoon," he winked.

"Are you sure you don’t wanna go back to that romantic little hotel where we had couples counselling? Last chance," Steve teased.

"I would rather stab myself in the thigh with a fork," Danny nodded plainly.

"If you do that, I'll kiss it better," Steve offered.

"Terrible Segway," Danny laughed.

"Then kiss me and I'll stop talking," Steve challenged.

"You never stop talking."

"Kiss me anyway."

Danny obliged. Steve could feel the way his lapels were being tugged uneven as Danny held onto them like handles. He didn't care. He didn't care about the way he definitely just trod on his hat either. Not when the cold metal of Danny's wedding ring brushed against the warmth of the back of his neck like that. Steve moaned softly.

"No one will notice ten minutes," he insisted. 

Danny chuckled, his hand didn’t leave the back of his neck. "Save it for tonight."

Steve groaned like a sulky toddler. He didn’t like having to wait for anything. 

"We haven't even had cake yet," Danny insisted.

Steve winced. It was going to be a long day before any mention of cake didn’t fill him with dread. Danny just smiled sympathetically and patted his cheek. Steve stooped to collect his hat before allowing Danny to lead him by the hand back into the main hall. Their crumbled clothing did not go unnoticed.

They didn’t have long to wait until the cake was wheeled out. The pale blue and white frosting complimented each other nicely, and the two grooms on top won affectionate coos from everyone around them. Danny took the knife from Steve to cut it. He didn't trust Steve with knives. No one - but Steve - disagreed with him.

"Hey Steve, this cake doesn't have red hot chilli frosting right?" Chin grinned as he took a slice.

"No of course-" Steve had laughed, but then he remembered just who had infected his birthday cake with chilli last time. "Danny this cake doesn’t have red hot chilli frosting right?"

Danny had long since forgotten pranking Steve, and threw his head back to laugh at the sudden memory. "Damn, I wish I'd thought of that!"

"Dyou think Charlie'll want some cake?" Eric teased.

"I think Charlie's had enough cake to last him a year at least," Rachel said, seriously.

"Better save him some anyway," Steve said.

"Where is Charlie anyway?" Danny asked.

Steve's shoulders tensed. Never had four words stuck such terror into his heart before. 

"I put him to bed. He’s had a long and exhausting day, he was falling asleep standing up," Rachel explained. 

Steve sighed with relief. As long as he was safe they didn't mind him missing out on the party.

"I wish I'd known I could have said goodnight," Danny said.

"It's fine, you'll see him tomorrow," Grace said.

"We'll save him some cake," Steve declared.

Charlie was just the first to leave. Joan was already asleep in Mary's arms when Steve kissed her goodbye. Noelani's day was just as long as theirs and she was exhausted. She took Jerry home too because he was on her way. Junior and Tani staggered out into the street when their cab arrived. Before Kono and Adam left, she made sure to get another hug from Steve. It had become their own quiet tradition to ensure they hugged goodbye properly every time because they were never certain how long it would be before they saw each other again. She did end up being their designated driver too. Eric drove Eddie, Clara and Bridget back to their hotel before coming back for Stella and Vito who were staying with him.

Other people wandered off towards their rooms in the hotel as the staff came by to clean up after them. Eventually it was just Danny and Steve, until Grace ushered them back to their room too. 

It was almost one in the morning and she was the only one still wide awake and sober. She sent Rachel out to warm up her car while she went to collect Charlie. That would have gone perfectly smoothly had Rachel not left Charlie in the bridal suite. And given the key back to Clara. Who gave it to Steve. Who was on his way to the bridal suite with Danny.

The two drunk husbands stumbled over each others legs in a fit of giggles and hushing as they tried not to disturb the other hotel guests who were trying to sleep. A plan which would have worked much better if they weren't so giddy.

They reached the door of the bridal suite and Danny brushed him aside to unlock it.

"Y’know I think today went pretty well," Steve said.

He wanted for Danny to finish fumbling for the key card and realise that Steve was holding it out to him. Danny kept patting his pockets instead of paying attention. 

"It was a lot of fun," Danny agreed.

"That fun is exhausting though, right?" Steve smiled.

"Yes! Oh, man, is it okay if we just crash out when we get in there? If we ever get in there. I must have left the key-"

"Danno."

Danny finally looked up and saw the card in Steve's hand. He glanced up and saw the cocky smirk that came with it.

"What is that?" Danny asked. 

Steve scoffed. "It's a basket of muffins."

"Don’t be snarky."

"Don’t be stupid."

"We've been married less than a day and I already want to strangle you!"

"You couldn't reach."

"I hate you!"

"No you don’t, you love me."

Danny snatched the card off of him and grumbled something about Steve being lucky he did love him or he'd punch him in the mouth again. The door swung open and they stumbled inside. Danny switched on the bedside lamp to reveal a large bump in the bed.

Charlie was sound asleep. He had changed into the only clothes that Rachel had managed to find in the room. That happened to be Steve's shirt that he had worn to get here. Rachel had wanted him to shower too, but he was far too tired to try. Instead he climbed into bed still smelling faintly of cake and bubble solution.

"I think someone's in here," Steve said.

"Who's been sleeping in my bed?!" Danny said in the same deep voice he put on for bedtime stories. 

"Alright Goldilocks, it's only Charlie," Steve smirked. 

Danny joined Steve to look down at their son. He was so sweet when he was sleep. The tranquillity of his young face was full of peace. It showed nothing of the whirlwind that sprung to life whenever his eyes were open.

"Rach said she put him down, I didn't think - well where else would she have to put him?" Danny muttered.

"What'd you wanna do? There's only one bed," Steve said.

"Leave Charlie to sleep. We'll go to your room," Danny said.

Steve nodded. He bent down to kiss Charlie's head while Danny turned off the light. They stumbled back out of the room, attempting to be quiet, although for all the navy training in him, Steve never could help crashing around like an elephant when drunk. Danny quietly shut the door behind them.

"Remind me to text Rach to check he’s okay in the morning," Steve said.

"I don’t think I'll be thinking of Rach when I wake up beside you and I hope you don’t either," Danny said, seriously. 

Steve just nodded in acceptance and waited for the elevator doors to open. When they did, the men blinked in surprise. Grace was far less surprised.

"Gracie!" Steve beamed.

Grace held out a hand. "Keycard please."

Danny reached into his pocket to hand the card to her without a question.

"Be quiet in there, Charlie's sleeping," Steve warned in a loud whisper.

He swung closer to her as he spoke and the sheer perfume of fumes coming off of him made her take a step back.

"Oh wow you really are drunk," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah but we have somewhere safe to sleep, where are you going?" Danny asked, concerned.

Grace blinked at them as they stared at her, waiting for an answer. Her fathers were two of the best detectives on the island. It was a wonder how when they barely had brain cell between them.

"I'm going to drive Charlie and Mom home, and I'll stay there," she explained, slowly and clearly.

"Text-" Danny gulped back a burp, "text me when you get home safe okay monkey?"

"Okay Danno. Good luck tomorrow," She chuckled.

"Drive safely Gracie," Steve called as Danny slipped past him into the elevator.

Grace didn’t look back as she called, "Night Steveo."

"Love you," Steve added, craning his neck out of the doors to do so.

"Love you too," she said back.

It felt like stating the obvious these days, but it left Steve with a goofy megawatt grin. He shook his shoulders smugly as he stood beside Danny.

"What?" Danny sighed.

"She loves me," Steve grinned.

Danny rolled his eyes and beamed back, "Idiot."

It struck Danny how lucky he really was to have found someone like Steve, who genuinely did love his children as his own. So many of his relationships had failed because his partner couldn't handle being second to his children, or worse, to his job, but Steve accepted that. Not only did he accept it, he expected it. He held Danny to the same standards. Grace and Charlie loved him. They weren't shy about it. And he was so proud to love them back.

It only made Danny love him more. 

"Will you carry me over the threshold?" Steve asked suddenly. 

Danny frowned. "Why? We're not living here." 

"It's tradition. I thought you were all about tradition today," Steve shrugged.

"I can't pick you up babe-"

"I'm not that heavy-"

"You’re way too tall-"

"You're really strong-"

"And I'm way too drunk!"

"Ah. Yes. Drunk..."

"But if it's important to you, I'll try, because I love you. In fact, I think we should get married," Danny declared. 

Steve stared at him for a moment. Danny's face was firm in his resolve. As drunk as he was, he meant it. He loved Steve, and he wanted to marry him. Which made Steve burst into laughter again.

"Gracie's right man, you're so drunk!" He declared.

"I'm not drunk- okay I'm drunk, but I still love you," Danny insisted. In a lower tone he said to himself, "I'd marry you in a heartbeat."

There was a ding as the elevator reached their floor and Steve stuck a finger into the air as if he could point at it, and gave Danny a manic grin.

"Microwave's ready!"

It took Danny a microsecond longer than usual to realise he was joking, and he burst into laughter. Steve burst into laughter just watching him. The two of them doubled over giggling long enough that the elevator doors shut in front of them. 

There was more giggling over nothing as they staggered down to Steve's room and ended up collapsed on the bed, fully clothed, in the dark.

"So what- what do we do now?" Steve gasped as he finally stopped laughing.

"Already forgotten?! That's not a good sign," Danny snorted.

"No, I mean-" Steve sniggered and tried to stop himself laughing again, "where do we go from here? We're married. We're happy. What's next?"

Danny took a deep breath and it turned into a yawn. Steve's eyes had already shut themselves, or he would have copied.

"We sleep... We wake up... We sober up. We pack up everything from both of our rooms, and check out... Then we go," Danny said.

Steve nuzzled his head against whatever part of Danny was closest, "Where do we go?"

Danny's hand moved to brush against Steve's jawline, and ended up against his tie again.

"Home Steven. We go home."

"Home..." Steve yawned, and smiled to himself. "I like that."

Danny snorted. "You’re drunk. Go to sleep."

"You're drunk! You go to sleep!" Steve grumbled. 

"Fine, I will!" Danny argued, as if he wasn’t already halfway there.

"Fine!" Steve grumbled back.

Danny rolled over to a more comfortable position. "Goodnight Mr Williams."

Steve chuckled warmly and snuggled against him again. "Goodnight Mr McGarrett."


	15. Chapter 15

"Yes, that’s Williams-McGarrett, two I's, two L's, two R's, two T's. Well we like pairs. Mahalo."

Danny leaned his head back against the wooden frame of the swing seat set up on the lalani to listen to the end of his husbands conversation. He waited for the phone to beep and indicate that he had hung up before talking.

"You forgot the two m's."

"Damn. Ah they'll figure it out."

Steve waved a liver spotted hand in the air as he shuffled back towards the lalani and into view. Danny squinted against the bright morning sunlight to see him.

"All booked in?" He asked. 

Steve nodded, "Yep. Celebration dinner is a go."

"He hasn't accepted Tani's request yet, you know that right?" Danny said.

Steve grunted as he sat down beside Danny, causing the swing to rush back at the new weight.

"Charlie serves Captain Kai well but if it comes to a choice between working for Pua or working for Tani, it's hardly a choice!" He said.

"I never thought they'd make him captain," Danny muttered. 

Steve shrugged, "Goes to show you never can tell."

Pua had dedicated himself to his career path. He really had. A few minor set backs had kept him away from higher roles for a long time - Danny was particularly bitter about his deliberate loss of power tools, even if Steve had already forgiven him - but when he finally made Captain, the whole of Five-O had gone to celebrate with him. Just as he had come to celebrate Tani being put in charge of their taskforce.

A small mew caught Steve's attention. Wandering along their fence post was a long, slim, sleek white cat with deep green eyes and a blue collar that held a shining tag declaring his name _Surf._ Steve kissed his teeth to draw him closer.

"Surf's up," Danny joked.

Steve tutted at him. He cooed at the cat. "Hi twinkle toes."

"Can you not call him that please," Danny sighed.

"Why not? What’s the problem?" Steve asked.

"What’s the problem? What's the prob- that’s not his name, that’s the problem, okay?" Danny complained,

"We spent a lot of time choosing his name, we choose one, his name is Surf, that is his name, not Mr Pickles 2, not salty, not twinkle toes, _Surf."_  
Steve stared at Danny for a while before declaring,

"You care about things too much y’know that?"

"I care too much?" Danny repeated. 

Steve nodded, "The things you care about are stupid."

"You realise you’re one of those things right, Commander McDumbass?"

"Funny, you can call me nicknames, but I can't call the cat-"

"It's not a nickname I'm insulting you."

"You didn’t even want the cat in the first place!"

"You’re just jealous that Surf likes me more than he likes you, which is only fair because Eddie liked you more than me."

"Eddie was my dog. And we were both military, you can't compare that to this."

"Oh I can't? What'd you think Surf, can I compare that to this? Huh?" 

Surf stretched out across the wood of the fence post, leapt gracefully onto the swing with them, and settle into Danny's lap. Steve grumbled go himself as the rumbling from the cat ran through the wooden timbers. 

"Look at that, he's purring," Danny smirked. 

"You're insane y’know that?" Steve said.

"Insane enough to marry you," Danny countered. 

"I distinctly remember you asking me," Steve argued. 

Danny scoffed, "You're going senile."

"I’m going senile? Alright. Okay. Shame I don’t have anything like this ring to prove it!"

Steve drew the chain around his neck out from under his shirt. His engagement ring was still hanging on it, beside his engagement ring. It was safer to wear them like this, so they wouldn’t catch on the rings of the grenades he liked to play with. 

"All that proves is you’ve got a pretty ring as a necklace," Danny said, firmly. 

Steve just rolled his eyes, chuckled, and tucked his rings back in safely against his chest. He leaned back against the support behind him and gently pushed the swing back and forth as he rolled his heel with it.

Danny's eyes traced their garden. Down at the beach where the sun trickled over the water, very little had changed. There were more bushes to be used as cover for the turtles that had taken up residency in summer, but you couldn't see them. Anyone looking past their double hammock - which they rarely used since last time Steve's back went and he got stuck in it - wouldn't see any big differences compared to fifteen years ago when they finally got married. 

Closer to the house though, they were clearer.   
Up against the lalani, their battered old fishing boat had been transformed into a planter. It was brimming with local flowers planted by Kono and Adam's twins as part of a school project. They had filled whatever they could get their hands on with plants as part of a wildlife conservation project. Now they were blooming and the rocky little boat was a sea of colour.

On the other side of the steps was Danny's vegetable and herb patches. A small hobby for his old age that married nicely with his love of cooking. Steve and Danny only ate the freshest home made meals. They had raised beds to ensure protection from the wind coming off of the sea, but the tomatoes in particular had grown over them. They perfumed the air with basil and chives and stirred old memories of the diners back in Jersey. Danny was beginning to wonder if he'd ever see them again. At his age it would be difficult to make the journey. 

Hell the journey from the living room to the bathroom was hard enough some days. Especially with the cat winding round his feet begging for food and knocking framed photos off as he went. 

That was why he hadn't helped set up this swing seat. If his thumbs were goofy when he was young, they were worse now. And his hand shook slightly which made it hard to be firm. Steve wasn't much better. Old age hit him with a vengeance. All those injuries and foolish decisions of youth were having the last laugh now. Fortunately for both of them, they had two strapping young lads who had come in to set it up for them.

Junior held the wood up, and Charlie screwed it into position. They'd even painted it with a layer of protection so it could withstand the weather. It was that day that they had found out Tani wanted to recruit Charlie to Five-O. Actually she had wanted him the moment he said he was going to join the academy, it was Junior who decided he had to actually finish it first.

If he had to, everyone else had to too.

The sky was clear today. It was as radiant blue as the sea below. The sun beat down to warm the land, but the salty breeze dancing off of the waves kept them cool. They could just about hear the quiet buzzing of bees bumbling between flowers as they went about their day. Between the playfully crashing of the waves, the creak of the swing, and the purring of their cat, it was as if the world had been set up to relax them.

And it was about time too. 

"This is nice," Danny said.

"Yeah? I knew it would be. And you wanted the rocking chairs!" Steve smirked.

"Not the - not the swing, idiot, _this!"_ Danny cried.

He threw an arm out towards their garden pointedly. Steve followed his gaze, and came up short.

"Can you be more specific? This is kind of a lot!" He said.

Danny smiled as he looked out over the garden they had built up together. A tiny fraction of what they had achieved as a partnership. It was a lot, and it was theirs, and it was beautiful. 

"Exactly."

Down on the shoreline a surfer came into land. She was soaking wet. Sunlight was refracting rainbows off of her skin as she shook her hair out. Despite the insistence of her parents that she wear a wet suit, today had hadn't bothered to wear more than her bikini. The wetsuit didn't fully fit anymore and it made her stomach feel like it was being pushed in. She wasn't so sure that was good for baby. Besides a bikini showed off her tattoos better, and it amused her to see the shoal of fish and green sea turtles covered by real surf.

She dragged her board up through the sand and tucked it under her arm to carry it across the grass. Steve raised a hand to wave at her as she got close.

"Howzzit? Water good?" He called.

"As always," Grace beamed. "I saw another Jackfish. I think it was a Vito. They seem to be taking off around here, there must be a larger supply of food around here than I thought."

At some point in her degree, Grace had gone scuba diving with Steve and seen a fish she didn't recognize. They seemed to mostly stay close to the perimeter around the family garden. It was still relatively undisturbed, especially in comparison to other beaches on O'ahu, but it still seemed strange. When she took photos to show her professors, they realised she had discovered a new type of jackfish. When it came to naming it, it felt right to honour her late uncle.

"Yeah well that's typical. He was a survivor old Vito. May he rest in peace," Danny said. 

"He’s not in peace. Trust me, Eddie's keeping him in line," Steve said.

"Even in heaven that poor dogs got a job!" Grace laughed. 

"Should pregnant women even be surfing?" Danny asked, concerned. 

"I’m not that pregnant. And Auntie Kono said it was okay," Grace argued. 

Danny gave her a stern look, "Auntie Kono is not a doctor."

"Auntie Kono was surfing when pregnant with Kahili and Eiko. They're two of the brightest kids in Kamekona's club," Grace argued.

Kamekona, in his generosity and aloha spirit, had set up a youth club. The idea was to start with at risk kids and teach them skills like cooking to help keep them off the streets and out of jail. It had quickly become open to all kids, not just at risk youths.

There were all sorts of activities there, many of which drew in experts to help out. Like Grace volunteering to educate interested kids about the marine life around Hawaii. There were also football games, field hockey, hula, and self defence _without_ weaponry. That one in particular had the aid of HPD. A lot of their officers had met violent ends and if they could help kids get rid of the weapons and still feel safe, they would do anything to do so. 

All in all it had been a huge success and Kamekona was incredibly proud of it. More than half of the island were calling him Uncle Kamekona these days. Not that he let that change him.

"Yes, but-" Danny began.

"It's fine, she'll be a water baby!" Steve declared.

Grace laughed again. She always appreciated it when he stepped in to save her from Danny ranting.

"It could be a boy Steveo," she said.

Steve nodded but said, "I hope not, I've put a bet on it."

"Is there anything Kamekona won't take bets on?" Danny sighed.

"No," Steve and Grace chorused. 

Grace chuckled to herself as she wandered into the house to shower. They had dozens of photos framed on the walls these days. Photos of the kids growing up, and the two of them being in love and Joan growing up, and their task force growing and being successful, and Eric. Just Eric. He had taken a self portrait and framed it and left it on their shelf to see how long it would take them to notice.

Steve just tutted when he did. He had moved it onto the windowsill, beside the photo of him, Noelani and Jerry covered in mud and looking exhausted. There was better light here. Whatever possessed them to join the mud challenge by themselves not even they could tell you anymore, but with Grace, Charlie, Junior and Max's helping, they had completed it without injury which was more than could be said for Danny. 

Grace noted the picture as she passed by, and a thought occurred to her as she stepped back out onto the lalani.

"Are you going to the housewarming tonight?" She asked. 

Danny scoffed. "Eric and Jerry have been sharing that house so long Noelani can't make it any warmer, how could we?"

"Do _you_ think they're polyamorous?" Steve asked Grace curiously. 

It had clearly been a topic of interest around the old office because this was not the first time Grace had been asked. Fortunately for her Danny assumed he was asking him. 

"I don’t know and I don’t care. They're keeping him out of trouble and out of my hair, so I'm happy."

Steve licked his lips as he considered not saying it, but it slipped out. "What hair?"

Danny slowly turned to glare at him. "Really? Feeling brave are we?"

Steve beamed back at him cheekily. They teased each other a lot for sure, but the hair was off limits. But Steve wouldn't know where the line was if he didn't toe it sometimes.

"What did you get them?" Grace asked.

"Do we have to buy them a present?" Steve sighed.

"I gave him a job, I introduced them to these people - you got Jerry a badge! Why do we have to keep getting them more things, the ingrates!" Danny grumbled.

Grace gave him a pointed look. She had been expecting this reaction, but she still thought he could do better. Steve took it as a message. 

"Ah lighten up you old curmudgeon. We'll get em some flowers or something," Steve declared. 

"Come on! Grandma got em a record player and they're on a cruise! You’re on land! Do better!" Grace insisted. 

"Excuse me but we gave Jerry the ammunition he needed for his best seller that gave him what he needed to afford the house! He thinks he’s the next Robin Masters, it's crazy," Danny scoffed.

"You sound jealous," Grace teased.

"I am, deeply so. Why didn't I think about writing a book?" Danny complained. 

"Because you said no one cares about truth and you didn’t want to alter your reality anymore than it already had been," Steve said. 

"I care! I love uncle Jerry's books, he keeps sneaking in references to me and Charlie, it's goofy but I get really excited," Grace chuckled.

Danny nudged Steve, "You could write a book."

"Me?" Steve frowned.

"Yeah you," Danny nodded.

"What have I got to write about?" Steve frowned.

"What have you- oh I dunno, how about your life?" Danny said.

"My life?" Steve repeated. 

"Your mother fakes her death when you’re a kid, you get sent away from the only home you’ve ever known to join the navy with Joe. You become a SEAL. Your dad dies at the hands of a terrorist. You meet this devastatingly handsome and intelligent detective and instantly full head over heels for him-" 

"I think you’re skipping about ten years twice there."

"That’s twenty years."

"Is it the devastatingly handsomeness that told you that, or your lack of intelligence?"

"My lack of intelligence was when I agreed to be your partner. Actually, I don’t even think that was a choice, I'm pretty sure that was _your_ decision!"

"Best one I've ever made."

"Only good one you’ve ever made! With how reckless you are its a wonder we ever got here!" 

Steve winked at Grace as he grinned and she rolled her eyes and smiled to herself. Her hand rested gently on her stomach as she silently apologised for forcing her child to have to put up with this.

"Dads, are you done? Only me and the keiki gotta go before the world ends," she said.

Danny tilted his head at her. "Keiki? I remember when you didn’t understand what a pizza was because you only ever called the tomato pies, now you're out here calling bump a keiki. Where did I go wrong?"

"With this one?" Steve chuckled. Grace arched an eyebrow to challenge him. He winked back again, "Nowhere."

Grace felt herself smile despite herself. She mumbled, "Mahalo Steveo."

Grace stepped up closer to the swing to kiss his cheek, and Danny's straight afterwards. She picked up her board under one arm and threw them a shakra.

"I'll see you tonight. Aloha Danno. Steveo," she called.

"Aloha Gracie," Steve called after her.

"See ya monkey," Danny called.

Steve rolled his head against the back of the swing to look at Danny. "Would it kill you to say Aloha?"

"Yes."

Steve laughed at his abrupt end of the conversation. He couldn’t helping loving this idiot, but sometimes it still surprised him that he did. As he looked lazily back to the horizon, his mind trailed back over the years of his life before Danny. They felt so far away and so less important these days. Sure, he had saved the world from terror on a monthly basis, and travelled the world before he was nineteen, but what did that matter when the man he loved was in New Jersey of all places. He never thought he'd have to come home to fall in love.

"I could write a book, couldn't I? I wouldn't bother with the navy though, the classification red tape is too much of a bother. Five-O though... I could write about how we first met," Steve said thoughtfully.

"How I punched you in the face," Danny nodded in approval. 

"Obviously. How we took on Chin and Kono and took down the governor and Wo-Fat and Gabriel and everyone else, and slowly fell in love..." Steve said.

"An action packed thriller huh? No one would ever believe half the shit you did," Danny scoffed.

"Why not? I did them!" Steve argued.

Danny smiled at how defensively he argued. "No one would ever believe you climbed onto a helicopter while it was taking off, defeated all three people inside and landed it without a single civilian casualty."

Steve soured at his condescending tone, but smirked as he decided to go with it. "Or that you could survive throwing yourself off of a rooftop to avoid organised gang warfare and then break your arm falling off a ladder-"

"A cheap ladder! A cheap fucking ladder!" 

"You’re right, no one would buy that I could ever fall in love with someone as grumpy as you."

Danny glared at him while Steve beamed back. All their time together and he still got a kick out of pissing off his partner. Danny rolled his eyes.

"You’re a jackass you know that?"

"That’s why you love me."

Danny huffed but he didn't deny it. How could he? All his life he had never had a desire to leave his city let alone his state, now he was thousands of miles away and he didn’t want to be anywhere else. Even if this place was constantly covered in sand.

"I never thought we'd get here," he sighed.

"Here?" Steve repeated curiously. 

"I never thought I'd live to be an old married man with a swing seat on my veranda overlooking the ocean and a husband by my side," Danny said.

"You didn’t think you'd have a husband, or you didn’t think you’d be married?" Steve asked.

"I didn’t think I'd be alive," Danny chuckled. "I was sure you'd get me killed somewhere along the way, and if you didn’t I'd have a stress induced aneurysm."

"Hey if I can survive the navy and your stress and radiation poisoning and not develop cancer, what gives you the right to have an aneurysm without me?" Steve smirked.

"Without you? You really think we're gonna die at the same time don’t you?" Danny grinned.

"No. No, of course not. I’m gonna die first and you’re gonna die of a broken heart," Steve grinned back.

"If you die first I'm gonna die of shock because I can finally know peace for a day."

"You think you could only live a day without me?"

"I sure as hell wouldn't survive the funeral."

"Till death do we part huh?" 

Steve held out a hand to Danny. Danny smirked. He laid his hand in Steve's, entwining their fingers again.

"I wouldn’t have it any other way."

Steve smiled as he leaned over to kiss him. "I love you Danno."

"I love you too Steveo. Even if you are still a Neanderthal."

Steve laughed and rolled his eyes as Danny just grinned. The sun kept on shining but it paled in comparison to their love struck smiles. It always had. It kept them warm though. The sea kept lapping at the shore, the breeze kept them cool. The world was calm and peaceful now that they were settled in each others arms. Old. Married. In love.

And so very, very happy.


End file.
